Maybe This Time
by JaeSan
Summary: Future Fic.  Rachel and Quinn meet again in New York six years after regionals...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So this idea was formed when I saw a vid on youtube of Lea Michele singing "I Love Rock n' Roll" and it kinda got stuck in my head. Don't know if it's any good, but if you want I'll keep posting more, I have a lot of it written...

Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray swallowed the last of her drink and turned toward the door of the bar in need of some fresh air. She had just made her way through the crowd into an opening that lead toward the door when the name Rachel Berry rang out over the bar's sound system. Quinn turned and her breath caught in her throat as she watched Rachel take a long pull off of her beer before setting it on the ground in front of her and smiled when the brunette announced to the entire establishment that she was old enough to drink. Quinn sucked in a breath as the song started and in those first few moments Quinn could not even recognize the name of the song that was falling from Rachel's lips. Rachel's voice was lower and as imperfect as Quinn had ever heard and she was mesmerized by how sexy the woman sounded and looked. Rachel Berry had grown up.

Rachel's small frame had lost all traces of the baby fat that she had carried in high school and her short skirts had been replaced with the sexiest fitting pair of worn jeans that Quinn had ever seen. The sweaters had been replaced with a simple black sleeveless button down whose sides were cut short so that they revealed tiny patches of Rachel's perfectly tanned smooth skin. Quinn's fingers suddenly ached to touch that bare skin that was tastefully revealed at the brunette's hips as she swayed to the music. The commotion around her faded away as Quinn became caught up in the woman on the stage and her mouth went dry as Rachel sang the words "So we can be alone…" And when the song was over Quinn turned toward the bar in desperate need of some refreshment as her eyes caught sight of the ink that became visible on Rachel's lower back as she exited the stage.

Quinn paid the bartender and tipped back her own beer and let half of the bottle wash into her mouth before she stopped drinking and felt some of the blood drain from her face. "That was kinda hot." Quinn's mind was interrupted from the confusion over her reaction to Rachel Berry by the voice of her…well Quinn didn't really know what she was, but judging from the look on Lacey's face her girlfriend (for lack of a better term) was expecting Quinn to go home with her tonight and at the beginning of the night Quinn had fully intended on following through with that expectation. But now she was…distracted (by Rachel Berry no less), and as much as she refused to label or at times acknowledge her relationship with Lacey, she would feel guilty about going home with her when she was all worked up over another woman. Quinn sighed, downed the rest of her drink and reluctantly took Lacey's hand as they followed their friends toward the door, dreading the argument that she knew was going to take place out on the sidewalk of all places. Lacey was not shy about showing that she was upset and for a moment Quinn forgot about Rachel Berry and how much she wanted to search the bar until she found her and concentrated on a way to make it seem like Lacey's idea for Quinn to go home to her own apartment. It was only when they were out on the sidewalk that she realized she had left her Jacket on the bar when she had went back for another drink after Rachel had sang. "I left my jacket inside." She said, pulling her hand away and trying to ignore the freedom she felt when Lacey dropped her hand. They had just hailed a cab and Quinn nodded toward the hideously yellow car. "Go on, share with them, I'll get another one and meet you back at your place." She smiled at Lacey and kissed her before closing the door and heading back inside…

Rachel Berry felt eyes on her. And no she didn't mean the eyes of the entire audience. She felt specific eyes on her. Just because she was tipsy didn't mean that her sixth sense wasn't working, and the entire time that she had been singing she could feel someone watching her. She looked around as she exited the stage hoping to find them (the eyes), but she was interrupted by her favorite co star and best friend shouting her name "Rachel! Rachel! Over here!" She smiled widely at him and made her way over to her friends. "You rocked, Babe." He said as he hugged her, grinning when she kissed him. "And in honor of you being a total rock star, we need another round." Rachel grinned back at the look he gave her and shook her head as she made her way toward the bar.

Rachel returned all of the smiles and high fives as she made her way across the room and gave the bartender their order and told him to put it on her tab. He smiled and went about getting her drinks as she propped herself on the edge of a bar stool, frowning when her foot got caught in something. Rachel looked down at her feet and found a black leather jacket tangled up with her boot, she reached down to grab it and noticed the express label inside the collar. It was a pretty expensive jacket to lose and Rachel looked around the trying to identify anyone in the immediate vicinity who could claim the jacket. "Here ya go sweetheart." Rachel smiled at the bartender and held the jacket out to him. When she explained that she had found it he shrugged her over to a spot at the end of the bar and told her that he would hand it over if and when the owner came back for it. Rachel tucked the jacket away inhaling the fragrance that came off of it as she shook it out and folded it up and made her way back to her table dropping off her drinks before heading to the bathroom.

Rachel exited the bathroom stall appalled at having to use a public restroom unaware that there was anyone else in the bathroom with her as she used the sink and checked her makeup. She only became aware of another occupant when she noticed that a blonde had sidled up next to her and was staring intently at her via her reflection in the mirror. Rachel looked up to meet the hazel eyes that stared back at her and when her brain caught up to them her mouth dropped unceremoniously, and she was speechless. She watched as the corners of Quinn Fabray's mouth turned up into an amused smile, "So happy to see me that your speechless, huh Berry?" And in the three seconds it took Rachel to register that the blonde had spoken she was immediately transformed back into her fifteen year old self and went into self protection mode. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and looked away from the blonde her muscles automatically tensed to receive the invisible slushie in Quinn's hand. For her part Quinn had the grace to look ashamed and apologetic, but not before taking the opportunity to run her gaze up and down Rachel's small form. As amazing as Rachel had looked up on the stage Quinn had to steady herself against the sink now that the girl was a mere foot away from her.

Rachel paused when she realized that she was still dry and then turned back toward her old nemesis embarrassment present on her smooth features. "Sor-" They both started speaking at the same time and Rachel took the awkward silence that followed to look the taller girl up and down. Rachel sighed, Quinn was still beautiful and she still felt inadequate standing next to her. Rachel smiled tentatively as her gaze reached Hazel eyes, "Hello Quinn. I apologize for not being able to speak, I was momentarily caught in surprise at seeing you there."

Quinn smiled back as Rachel recovered and was about to answer her when her phone broke the silence. She sighed and picked up the phone, she knew that Lacey would only keep calling her until she picked up. Quinn shot Rachel an apologetic look before turning from their conversation or non conversation to answer the phone. Rachel listened as Quinn told the caller that she was searching for her missing jacket and was in the bathroom. Rachel didn't really understand the feeling of happiness that flooded through her when she realized that she could help the blonde girl get her jacket back. She watched as Quinn hung up the phone and turned back toward her. "I know where your jacket is."

"You do?" Rachel tingled as Quinn's face lit up. "Black leather express?" Quinn nodded. "I left it with the bartender." Rachel motioned for Quinn to follow her and they made their way back toward the bar and Quinn's phone started to ring again. "If you have somewhere to be why don't we meet at the door. I'll bring it over." Rachel shouted over the music and then made her way through the crowd saying hi and hugging people as she left Quinn standing there. The blond marveled for a moment at the way Rachel worked the crowd and then made her way to the door to wait for her.

Rachel impatiently made her way through the crowd stopping to say hello to everyone who addressed her, not wanting to be rude to any potential fans. When she got to the bar the bartender came right back over and she asked him for a pen and told him that she had found the owner of the leather jacket he smiled, and produced the pen and even though she had been thinking about it for her entire walk to the bar she suddenly felt nervous as she grabbed a napkin off of the bartop and scrawled a message onto it before tucking it into the pocket of Quinn Fabray's jacket…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **So I guess I should have mentioned a few things at the beginning last time: I have yet to see all of season one, but I know the main points so spoilers for season 1(although if your reading fanfic, chances are you've seen at least the first part of season one so we're even). It goes AU pretty much right after Regionals and I like to throw things out randomly as they come up, so the past six years of Rachel and Quinn's lives will unfold in time. And lastly I know this is starting sort of slow, but I have big plans and like I said before a lot of it written so hopefully not a lot of waiting for updates. Thanks to the people that take the time to review, it's really sweet and it helps a lot :)

Quinn loved getting lost taking shots in the city. She had been here for just under a year and she was still amazed when she walked the same streets every day and constantly found things that she had not seen before. It was like every day was an adventure for her and even though she was sure that at some point the novelty would wear off she took the time every day to revel in the newness of everything that surrounded her. She took one last shot as she heard her phone going off in her pocket and then walked over to a nearby bench to begin packing up her things. When her camera and all of her gear were safely tucked into her bag she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone to silence her alarm. As she pulled the iPhone out of her pocket Quinn felt something else swish to the ground and she bent to pick up the garbage that had fallen out of her pocket. She was about to drop it in the trash when she noticed that it had something scrawled across the back of it and she turned it over. Right below the logo of the bar there was a phone number and a message. 'Call me, it would be wonderful to hear from you' Rachel had scrawled out the message and signed her name next to a little star that she had drawn in before the 'R'.

Quinn sat down on the bench that she was at and stared at the writing not knowing immediately what to do. It had been over a week since she had run into Rachel at the bar and even though the girl had popped into her head at the oddest times over the course of the week she had not gotten the impression from the brunette that she wanted anything to do with Quinn. Rachel had been nothing but polite and friendly as ever to Quinn for their very short conversation, but that was as far as it went. And even in the split second that Quinn had wanted to give the brunette her number Lacey had called and she felt guilt tug at her insides so she had simply said thank you and goodnight to Rachel before leaving in a cab, turning only once to watch as Rachel went back inside.

Quinn still didn't understand her reaction to seeing Rachel. It wasn't as if she had been living under a rock for the last two years, she was well aware that Rachel was in the city and had been since she had gotten accepted to Julliard at the end of her sophomore year. She also knew that Rachel was a pretty big deal on Broadway, she had seen her name a few time around the city on billboards or buses and things like that. She had even, on occasion, come across pamphlets and tourist books with her picture inside and never thought twice about it, but there had been something about seeing her in person that had done something to make it very hard for Quinn to forget that they were in the same city. Finding the number in her pocket was going to make it impossible for her to forget…

Rachel sighed as she walked into her loft apartment and set down her things. It was her favorite time of day, coming home and taking a bath with some music and a glass of wine, which she was now able to buy herself, thank goodness, she found that owing favors to Shane was sometimes more trouble than it was worth. But it was after all how Quinn Fabray had ended up waltzing back into her life. She had gone to the club with Shane that night so that he didn't have to show up alone. She wondered how long Quinn had been in the city, and for the thousandth time over the course of two weeks wondered why Quinn had not called her, and for the thousandth time worried that it was because Quinn didn't want to call her. Rachel didn't know why she cared so much whether or not the other woman contacted her or not, but she hadn't been able to get Quinn Fabray out of her mind. They had been far from best friends before, but Rachel had always felt a weird desire to win her over. Of course that had been squashed when she had left Lima the summer after her sophomore year, but now she felt like she had another chance.

She heaved another sigh as she made her way to the bathroom, kicking off her clothes as she went, for once not caring where anything landed. She had done two shows that day, and whether it was that or the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about Quinn, she felt exhausted. Rachel fell onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling groaning when she heard her phone going off in the next room. She decided to ignore it and headed toward the bathroom…

Quinn sat in one of the very back rows of the theater and waited with anticipation for Rachel Berry to take the stage. She wanted to be closer to the stage, but she had purchased the ticket only after finding the note from Rachel in her pocket and beggars couldn't be choosers. She was lucky that she was there alone because she had a feeling that finding two seats together might have been impossible. But when Rachel took the stage Quinn could still see and easily hear every nuance of her performance. The years spent at Julliard had been kind to Rachel Berry because as well as she performed in high school it was nothing compared to what Quinn was seeing now. Rachel's voice was stronger than ever and if Quinn wasn't mistaken she had a much wider range than she used to. Quinn figured she was sort of biased, but when the curtain fell on the end of the play she thought Rachel's performance was flawless. She grinned and clapped as hard as she could during Rachel's curtain call as if the diva could hear her above all the others and for some reason could not stop the feeling of pride that spread through her. Rachel had achieved her dreams and Quinn knew that no one, not even herself, had ever doubted that she would.

It wasn't until she was home sitting on her bed taking off her dress and her jewelry that she thought about using the number that she had programmed into her phone earlier that week. She looked at the screen for a full minute before typing out a message and hitting the send key before she could over think it. She waited for her phone to ring back with a response, but when five minutes passed and there was still no reply Quinn shook off the irrational amount of disappointment that coursed through her body and walked toward her bathroom…

Rachel felt a thousand times better now that she was clean and wrapped in her favorite pajamas. She was on her way to the couch when she remembered that she had missed a call before she got in the shower and stopped to grab her phone before settling herself on her couch. It was a text message from a number that Rachel didn't recognize and she felt anticipation in her stomach as she opened it.

'**I saw your show tonight…ps this is Quinn Fabray'**

Rachel's pulse raced as she read over the letters of Quinn's name. She frowned when she saw that the text message had been time stamped an hour ago, she hadn't thought that she had been in the shower that long. Rachel thought about it over and over again. She didn't want to wake her if she was sleeping, but she didn't want Quinn to think that she was ignoring her either. She had gone through enough of that this week so after deliberating over it for another quick second she sent off a text of her own and braced herself for an answer…or no answer if Quinn was sleeping.

'**I was wondering if you would ever use that number. And just for the record, you are the only Quinn that I am acquainted with. How did you find my performance?' **

Quinn had gotten out of the shower and into bed and found that she had been staring at her phone for twenty minutes when it finally went off. She couldn't help her smile and quickly replied back.

'**Eh…you were all right, occasionally sharp'**

When Quinn didn't receive a reply after a full minute she laughed out loud picturing Rachel's face and typed another message.

'**Jeez Berry I was only kidding get a hold of yourself…seriously you were amazing, as if you had any doubt'**

Rachel tried not to read too much into Quinn's reply. That she felt they were friendly enough to tease her, that she remembered their conversations from high school, or most importantly that she thought Rachel was amazing. No, she thought your _performance_ was amazing, Rachel reminded herself as she typed in a thank you.

'**Well it's late Quinn and unfortunately I do have obligations and responsibilities. I need my rest in order to be in top performance so I have to say goodnight. Do you mind if I contact you again tomorrow night? I will try to make it earlier, I'm sure you're tired and need your rest as well.'**

Quinn smiled as she read Rachel's message trying not to think too hard about the fact that she had smiled more in the last five minutes than she had in quite some time. She sent Rachel a reply and then switched off her phone. Quinn pulled her blankets up under her chin and didn't try to stop the warmth that spread through her at the thought of speaking with Rachel again tomorrow…


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, I don't know what Rach's tat is I haven't given it much thought. I was really just describing that youtube video, which if you haven't seen you should totally check out, Lea's hot :). Any ideas (about the tat), throw 'em my way *shrugs*. I'm gonna post for the next two days cuz I work all day tomorrow, so chapters 3 and 4. And since I forgot to do so in the first two chapters...I don't own Glee, any of it's characters...or the youtube video. Enjoy and let me know whether to continue :).

Chapter 3

Rachel grinned as she looked down at her phone, it was flashing with a message, but she was having lunch with Shane and she didn't like being rude. That being a fact she also didn't like to keep Quinn waiting, not that she ever complained, but Rachel found her leg tapping in anticipation for Shane to finish his story so Rachel could look at her phone. "Oh would you just look at it already." Shane said impatiently, but with a smile so she knew that he wasn't really upset with her. Rachel grinned her thanks as she looked at the message. A moment later Rachel giggled. When Shane lifted an eyebrow at her she shrugged her shoulders, Quinn had been randomly sending her messages all day, this one was accompanied by a magazine picture of her and Shane having lunch last week at their favorite restaurant.

'**Gasp. I had no idea you were famous. Can I have an autograph Rachel Berry?'**

'**They're not free.'**

She sent her reply and turned back to her co star. "So, are you two ever going to talk in person?" Shane looked at her pointedly.

Rachel shrugged again. "We both have very busy schedules to keep, Shane."

"And yet you're sitting here with me on your one day off when clearly I am your second choice." Shane pointed out as Rachel looked down at her phone that was once again flashing with a reply from Quinn. "Ask her to meet you. I'll stay if you think she's a weird stalker." Rachel looked at the phone.

'**Well in that case, I guess I'll have to stalk someone else ;)  
Struggling art students can't afford the great and powerful Rachel Berry'**

Rachel laughed out loud again, but didn't reply right away. "She's not a stalker, Shane. I've known her since high school."

Shane rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Ask her to meet us." Rachel sighed and looked down at her phone. She and Quinn had been texting back and forth for about a little over two weeks, had yet to meet up in person, and had only had one actual phone conversation. It seemed that one of them was always busy, and neither one had pushed it any further. Whenever Rachel tried to take it further the blonde always took her time answering Rachel, always to tell her that she was busy. Rachel swallowed' "Fine, but she has school so it's probably pointless."

"We can meet her at the NYU campus. A nostalgic stroll through my alma mater would be divine."

Rachel rolled her eyes this time. "You only left there two years ago."

'**What are you doing today, Quinn?'**

'**In the park right now…have classes in an hr'**

Rachel sighed, but without disappointment, Quinn had answered her back within ten seconds, so this was one of the times that Rachel knew she wasn't trying to avoid her. "She has a class in an hour." She said of Shane's expectant look.

"I guess I'm stuck with you then." Shane heaved a drawn out sigh of resignation and Rachel leaned over the table to give Shane a kiss on the cheek.

"Everyone should be so lucky." She said forcing herself to smile at her friend…

Rachel dropped her bags on the floor next to her table and sat down to pull her boots off just as she heard her phone going off. When she had gotten rid of everything except her tank top and underwear she threw herself onto her bed and opened her phone.

'**Whatcha doin?'**

'**Sitting on my bed in my underwear.'**

Quinn swallowed hard as she read Rachel's text, trying, to no avail, not to picture the brunette in her underwear. A split second later Quinn's phone vibrated again.

'**May I call you Quinn? I am exhausted and finding it difficult to dredge up the motivation to type, or whatever texting is classified as. It would be much easier to just have a conversation for tonight.'**

Quinn thought for a moment about what she was doing and sighed as Lacey's number flashed on her phone. Lacey was safe, Rachel was…well she was Rachel. Quinn honestly knew nothing about the other woman except that she _wanted _to know things about her. Which was an odd and new feeling for Quinn, not only because it was Rachel Berry, but also because she was so rarely genuinely curious about others. She left Lacey to voicemail and sent Rachel a reply.

'**Sure'**

A second later her phone rang and she picked it up, only slightly hesitantly, on the second ring. "Hi."

She smiled when she heard Rachel's voice. "Hello, Quinn."

"Rough Day?" She asked as she heard the exhaustion that Rachel had been talking about.

"Yes, Wednesdays and Saturday are always the most challenging. I do two shows on those days, I do love it though. Today was especially taxing however as Shane had to take the day off. And let's just say that the talents of his understudy are not nearly of the same caliber as my own, or even Shane's." Quinn smiled at the diva, noticing how Rachel had subtly lifted her own talents above those of her co-star. "And before you say that perhaps I am overreacting I am not the only one with feelings of concern over our male understudy. Heather had one of her lines stepped on as well."

"How'd he get the job?" Quinn didn't bother to hide the amusement in her voice when she asked Rachel the question.

Rachel sighed dramatically, "Well even though he has little to no sense of acting, I must, begrudgingly, admit that he has a more refined voice than Shane," Rachel paused and Quinn waited for her to continue. "And possibly myself."

Quinn couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "Did that hurt, Rach?"

Rachel's scowl at Quinn's teasing was softened by Quinn's laughter and the use of the shortened version of her name. "A little." She admitted sheepishly. "How was your day?"

"Long, but nice." Quinn replied vaguely. "Classes, did some shopping and laundry, had some dinner, you know normal people stuff."

"I do that stuff as well, Quinn." Rachel replied, it always made her uneasy when Quinn elevated her status. She wanted to make sure that the blonde knew that Rachel thought of them as equals. "How long have you been at NYU?" She asked. These were the things that Rachel missed knowing when she thought or talked about Quinn. Texting limited their need to talk about their actual lives. They each knew little things about the other (With Quinn knowing more), but had not really had any sort of meaningful conversation.

"I transferred from OSU at the beginning of the school year. What about you? How long have you been doing your show?"

"Same, about a year. It was Shane who got me the audition, he saw me as Maureen in a community theater performance of Rent."

"You were in Rent? Sorry, Berry I just can't picture it. You're so…clean cut."

"I am a very accomplished actress, Quinn. Do I need to remind you of that?"

Quinn Laughed again at the tone of indignation in Rachel's voice, "No, but I'm sure you will every chance you get, it's like high school all over again. Have you been back to Lima at all since you left?" Quinn figured she would have heard if Rachel had returned, but since they weren't friends she figured that it was possible that Rachel could have been in town without her knowledge.

Rachel paused thinking about the only time that she had been back to Lima. "Once." She said quietly.

"Rach?"

"Long enough to let Finn Hudson break my heart again." Rachel went silent for a moment. She knew that she didn't have any feelings left for Finn, it had just been so long since Rachel had thought about how it felt to grow up in Lima and she found that she needed to collect her thoughts. "He told me he loved me. Before regionals. We were dating when I went to New York with my Dads for the audition. It had been such a hard year and I had been begging my parents all year to let me audition over the summer. And when I got in it nearly broke my heart, but I gave him the option of breaking up with me. He told me that he loved me and that he would wait for me and that we would visit each other. Mostly because of my schedule and everything it was Finn coming to see me, but he never complained. I thought our relationship was going well. I came home after a year and I wanted to surprise him. His mother looked so surprised to see me, that should have been my first clue I guess."

Rachel had grown quiet again and when the silence went on for a little longer than necessary Quinn spoke Rachel's name softly. "Anyway," Rachel continued, "He had a cheerleader in his bedroom, not one I recognized, so she must have been new. Let's just say that I caught them in a compromising position. The next day I was at the store picking up a few things and on my way out she and Finn, and a few of what I can only guess were their friends, pulled up outside as I was walking out and she slushied me."

Quinn sat up on her bed, her body humming with rage at the way Finn had treated Rachel. "That Bastard!" She exclaimed.

Rachel laughed. "It was a long time ago, Quinn. He let her have it, if it makes you feel any better." Rachel added through the pleasure she felt at Quinn's concern. "He kicked them all out of his truck and gave me a ride home. We talked on the way back and when he got to my house, but it was all things that we both knew anyway. The trials of long distance, being so young, things like that. I'd like to think that we parted as friends." Rachel said with a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"Well he should have been honest. I would have been honest." Quinn thought it was a weird thing to say as soon as the statement left her mouth. And she covered up any awkwardness with a quick question "Have you seen him since?"

"He friend requested me on Facebook a long while back, we comment idly on each other's lives every now and again. What about you, do you still see anyone from high school?"

"Puck, and Santana occasionally. She graduates OSU this year. I'll probably go back for her graduation, but no one else really. How come you never go home? Don't you miss your Dads and stuff?"

"Yes, all the time, but they come up for any holiday they can, a week near Christmas and Hanukkah and two sometimes three weeks during the summer. I hated Lima, Quinn. I doubt I'll ever go back."

Quinn swallowed, she knew that she had a lot to do with Rachel hating their hometown. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I know that I wasn-"

"I wasn't looking for an apology, Quinn. But thank you, I never blamed you for anything you did. I tried to steal your boyfriend. Not one of my finest moments, I must say, but at least you had a reason to hate me, the other kids just did it to be mean." Rachel said it matter-of-factly, but Quinn could still hear the hurt and confusion hidden in Rachel's voice. "It's different here." Quinn could hear the smile in Rachel's voice as she brightened the conversation. "I don't feel so out of place here, I blend in better. It is still incredibly hard for a person like myself to make friends, but I have Shane and Heather, and now you." Rachel cursed her lack of filter on her voice as she admitted to Quinn that even though this was their first real conversation, Rachel counted her as a friend.

Quinn's smile widened at being amongst Rachel's friends. "Yeah, who'd have thought we'd be friends. Huh Berry?"

Rachel's cautious smile turned up into a full grin when Quinn confirmed their friendship, and she decided to push her luck. "Well, Quinn now that we have mutually acknowledged that we're friends, I was wondering when we might get together? Perhaps some time this week?" Rachel held her breath.

"I'm pretty busy this week, Rach, but maybe next week?" Quinn asked.

And even though Rachel had a sinking feeling in her stomach that Quinn was trying to hide something from her she agreed, not wanting to crowd her new friend. Rachel had been honest when she told Quinn that it was hard for her to make friends and she didn't want to scare Quinn away. Rachel and Quinn talked for a long time and only got off the phone when Quinn noticed that they had been talking for three hours and she had to be up in only four more hours. Rachel apologized and said goodnight to Quinn, who had only in the last ten minutes began to notice how sexy Rachel's voice sounded when it was sleepy. Quinn said her own goodnight and hung up the phone, as always trying not to think about how happy it made her to talk to Rachel, and this time thinking that after only one conversation she was already addicted to the sound of Rachel Berry's voice…


	4. Chapter 4

Oh by the way...For Shane's character, think young Gale Harold and for Rachel's apartment think Brian Kinney's Loft, because I'm still in love with both of them...

Chapter 4

Quinn looked down at her phone and sighed, two weeks had gone by and Rachel was still ignoring her. Quinn had been texting and calling her once a day, trying not to seem too needy, but Rachel had yet to answer.

Quinn had been with Lacey one night (two weeks ago) when Rachel had called and Quinn had snuck out of bed to call the brunette back. They had been talking for an hour when Lacey had woken to discover that Quinn was gone and she had found the blonde sitting on the edge of the tub talking on the phone. "Is everything okay?" She asked as she draped her arms around Quinn. Quinn had nodded and involuntarily retracted herself from Lacey's grasp. "Who're you talking to?" Lacey asked warily when Quinn had pulled out of her embrace.

And before Quinn could think about it she had replied with, "No one. It's nothing. I'll be back to bed in a second." Lacey had left her to her conversation and Quinn had swallowed. "Rachel?" She asked the silence, hoping that the girl was still on the other end of the line.

"You live with someone? Are you married?"

"What? No!" Quinn could hear the anger in Rachel's voice.

"But, you're seeing someone?"

"Sort of." She answered, "What's the big deal, Rachel?"

"Well seeing as though you have never mentioned this to me, and obviously you are trying to hide me from her as well, I can only guess that this is the reason that you have been reluctant to meet me over the last two months. Which tells me a multitude of things about your feeling for me Quinn Fabray, and also what you think of my feelings for you. For future reference, I do not take well to being lied to. I also do not enjoy being referred to as 'nothing' or 'nobody'!" Quinn had sat there dumfounded at Rachel's reaction to finding out that Quinn was seeing someone and had immediately tried to call her back. She sighed, Rachel had turned her phone off…

Quinn brought her drink to her lips, she had sent Rachel an apology the next day and had been thrilled when she had answered her back, until she had opened the message:

'**Nobodies cannot accept apologies, Quinn.'**

Quinn had felt her remorse turn to irritation and had texted her back.

'**Jesus rachel what are you twelve'**

'**I have earned the right to act like a twelve year old. I am the one that was lied to, in fact I feel sorry for your girlfriend. You could have mentioned to me that you were seeing someone. At least then I would have stopped making a fool out of myself by constantly asking you out with me.' **

'**Really would that have stopped the 'always gets what she wants' rachel berry because we both remember what happened with finn'**

Quinn winced even with her glass tilted at her lips. She was sorry the instant her finger had touched the send icon and had tried with all her might to cancel the text message, her heart sinking when the 'message sent' confirmation popped up on her phone. Five minutes passed before she had gotten another text message.

'**Don't flatter yrself fabbray tell yr ego that not evry1 that meets u wants to fuck u yr not even that pretty and definitely not worth compromising my morals'**

That had been the last thing that Quinn had heard from Rachel Berry. Quinn knew the girl was stubborn, so she knew that it was entirely possible that Rachel would never forgive her, and that hurt more than she cared to admit, but she had forgiven Finn. Quinn thought that what he had done was much worse than her own actions, but judging from the text message that Rachel had sent, the brunette obviously didn't hold her in as high a regard as Finn Hudson. Quinn had never known Rachel to be so…mean.

"Slow down, babe your gonna make yourself sick." Lacey grabbed the glass from Quinn's hand.

"Don't call me that." Quinn said in a gruff voice as she grabbed her glass back. She saw the surprise on Lacey's face and for once she didn't care. Lacey looked at Quinn in surprise. She knew that she had a tendency to be demanding and controlling, but Quinn usually took it in stride and rarely countered her.

"Sorry." Lacey gave her a rare, and surprisingly sincere apology. "Wanna get outta here? You don't really seem to be in the mood to be here." She wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist from behind the barstool she sat on. Quinn nodded and downed the rest of her drink, following Lacey out of the bar…

Quinn couldn't deny that Lacey was talented with her hands…and her tongue, but tonight she felt distracted as the woman touched her. She closed her eyes as Lacey held her against the back of her bedroom door and tried to concentrate on the girl in front of her, but instead much to her surprise and irritation, Rachel's face popped up behind her eyelids. Quinn's eyes flew open as she felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her body.

And then Quinn couldn't help herself, as Lacey's mouth traveled over her body all she could think about was how it would feel for Rachel's mouth to be where Lacey's was. She imagined Rachel's fingers entering her, and Rachel's voice whispering in her ear and suddenly her fingers ached to be running through Rachel's hair. Quinn groaned as she arched against the fingers that were moving inside her, slamming her head back against the door as she groaned out her climax, biting Rachel's name off the tip of her tongue.

Quinn opened her eyes lazily a moment later, her head still leaning back against the door, Lacey's head buried in her neck. Quinn felt her jeans pooled at her ankles and Lacey was running soft patterns over her sides. As the room came back to her and the intensity of her orgasm wore off Quinn realized that the only reason that Lacey had managed to get her off tonight was because she was thinking about Rachel. This thought made the guilt bubble inside of Quinn's stomach so deep that she clapped her hand over her mouth and ran toward Lacey's bathroom, locking the door behind her before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet…

Two weeks since their fight and Shane still couldn't get Rachel out of the house. He had noticed before Rachel that what she felt toward Quinn ran a little deeper than friendship. He had noticed it the day after he had to call in his understudy. She had walked into the theater the next day late, exhausted, with circles under her eyes. The Rachel Berry that he knew didn't get circles under her eyes and at first he thought something must have happened. Then Rachel had smiled at him and said good morning, not even throwing in a lecture about responsibility since he had missed yesterdays shows.

Shane had followed her into her dressing room letting his body fall back on her couch. "What's up?" Rachel looked at him, puzzled. "Oh come on Rae, you walk in here smiling that smile, circles under you eyes," He glanced at his watch. "Twenty minutes late, and I don't even get a lecture about leaving you yesterday to perform with Chuckles. Where is the Rachel Berry I know and love. If I didn't know any better I'd think you'd finally gotten laid." He had thrown in.

Rachel had looked at him and blushed. "I was talking to Quinn."

"Texting you mean."

"No, an actual conversation, Shane. I called her, I was too tired to type, of course I asked her permission first. We got caught up talking and I lost track of time. We didn't hang up until late."

"Wow this girl must really be something if she didn't get the 'it's late and I have responsibilities' speech." Shane reached over and picked up one of Rachel's bracelets so that he had something to tinker with as they talked.

"We were just catching up, and it was nice talking to her." Shane had not missed the way Rachel's voice had gone soft as she added the last part. He also didn't miss the smile that played over her lips as she pulled her hair back to get ready to go to make up.

"How nice was it?" Shane asked suggestively from his seat on the couch.

"Shane Sanders get out of my dressing room this instant!" Shane laughed as Rachel grabbed her bracelet off of the finger he had been twirling it around, pulled him up from her couch and shoved him toward the door. "Get, go!"

"Relax Rae," he laughed again. "I think it's cute that you have a crush on her."

"We're just friends!" She called after him. "You cannot have a crush on a person that you have only spoken to once, and have barely ever been in the same room with. And don't come in early on the third verse tonight! It's getting annoying!"

Shane sighed as he stepped onto the elevator to Rachel's loft. A week later Rachel had appeared in his dressing room moaning out her disbelief that she had a crush on Quinn Fabray. Shane had teasingly rolled his eyes and put his arm around his friend. He had been listening to her excuses all month long about why Quinn could never meet Rachel and watching the disappointment, and eventually hurt, mar Rachel's pretty features. He was beginning to mistrust and dislike this Quinn Fabray.

One night Rachel had told him about her past with Quinn and Shane thought she was crazy for getting involved with the blonde, but Rachel liked her so Shane had reluctantly supported her. He had no reluctance, however, supporting her the night that she had gotten into the argument with Quinn. They had been watching a movie when Quinn had returned Rachel's call and when his friend had stepped out of the bathroom fighting tears he had the urge to track Quinn down and show her why she shouldn't have messed with his best friend. He had taken the phone from Rachel when it rang a moment later and switched it off for the night letting Rachel curl up next to him on the couch until she fell asleep.

The next day when Quinn had texted Rachel they had been having lunch. When Rachel's face had gone white and tears had formed in her eyes for the second time because of Quinn he had grabbed her phone, read the message thread and typed his own message back to the other girl, knowing that Rachel didn't have it in her to play on the same field as Quinn just had.

Once a mean girl, always a mean girl Shane thought as he stepped off of the elevator. He let himself into Rachel's apartment and found her sprawled on her couch, _Funny Girl_ playing on her television. He moved her legs, sat down on the couch and pulled them back over so that they were now resting over his lap. Rachel smiled at him. "Let's go out." He said. Rachel's smile faded. "Come on Rae, it was just a crush."

"I know." Rachel sighed. "We were just friends, but for once it felt like someone actually liked me. She was really interested in everything I had to say, she didn't tell me to zip it and I felt like she understood, you know." Shane knew that Rachel only talked like a normal person when she was hurting and he wished that she didn't want things so much.

"I do that stuff." Rachel gave him a look, he shrugged.

"It would be a lot easier if she would stop calling me and texting me every day." At that Rachel's phone went off again. She rolled her eyes and picked up the phone. This text message was not like the other ones. They usually just said that Quinn was sorry and asked Rachel to please call her.

'**Rachel. I'm sorry for what happened, I know that I hurt you, but I thought that we were friends. Lacey is not the reason that I didn't want to hang out with you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her in the first place, but my motivation for keeping it from you had nothing to do with you and I honestly didn't think that it would hurt you so much. As for the other way around, she tends to get jealous and I give her enough headaches I didn't want to add another one. If you are still interested in my friendship I would like to invite you to my house on Sunday and I will show you the real reason that I find it hard to meet with you during the week. Please come Rach, I miss you.'**


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for reading everyone! And for the reviews and story alerts :) Look for another chapter tomorrow night, it just needs editing, but the weekend made me sleepy...

Chapter 5

Quinn ran around tidying up her apartment getting ready for Rachel even though she had still neither confirmed nor denied that she would be making an appearance at Quinn's home that day. Quinn wanted to be ready in case she did, and part of her knew that she would be relieved if Rachel didn't show up at all. Quinn wasn't stupid, she had known after a few conversations that Rachel was crushing on her, but she thought it was mostly harmless, mainly because she was crushing on Rachel as well. The only difference was that after years of practice Quinn knew how to control her emotions better than the diva.

In retrospect Quinn should have thought about who she was dealing with and told Rachel sooner that she was already seeing someone, but the truth was she liked the feeling of liking Rachel too much to stop herself. For the first time in ages Quinn felt herself smiling. She liked the feeling of excitement that fluttered in her stomach when she saw the 'RB' show on her caller ID. She liked letting Rachel have someone to talk to, since she held to the fact that she didn't have many friends, and she liked the jolt of accomplishment and satisfaction when she could make Rachel laugh.

It had all seemed innocent enough to Quinn, but when she thought about it she also liked that Rachel liked her. She liked the fact that Rachel kept asking her out, she liked the obvious adoration in the brunette's voice when they spoke every night and she loved any time that Rachel started a thought or a sentence with the words "I was thinking about you today." Which happened quite often, never failing to make Quinn grin. For the first time since she was sixteen years old Quinn had done something out of pure selfishness.

She knew about halfway into the second month of their phone conversations that she would never act on the feelings that she had for Rachel (yes even though she was reluctant to do so she had admitted to herself that she had actual feelings for the brunette), but she hadn't been able to dissuade herself from answering the phone because even though she knew it was wrong, she craved the sound of Rachel's voice.

The first day of not talking to Rachel had left her a considerable mess, she didn't go into tears, but her old personality had definitely reared it's scary head. She had been snapping at friends and co workers and occasionally strangers on the street, and Quinn was fairly certain that after this week she would no longer be able to show her face in at Starbucks again (good thing there happened to be one on every corner so she didn't have to grovel her way back into that particular location), no one was spared her misguided wrath. And it worsened into misery when after a week Rachel was still ignoring her.

After two weeks Quinn had found a rare moment alone in her apartment that had flooded her with guilt over the way that she had acted over the course of she and Rachel's conversations. It was much like sobering up, suddenly without the aid of an addictive substance actions become clearer, when your thinking with a clear head dancing drunk on a table and subsequently falling off of it are not exactly as amusing and fun as the night before. Suddenly, without Rachel's laugh telling her that she was funny, the hope in her voice when she asked her out telling her that she was wanted or Rachel's words telling her that she was important, Quinn realized that she was a big JERK.

And although Quinn didn't make it a point to think about Finn, her proximity to Rachel had caused her to do a lot more thinking about the past than she ever liked to. She finally understood how Finn felt about Rachel when they (herself and Finn) had been dating. When Rachel cared about something she did it with her whole heart and she poured all of her being into it with no regard for how it might end up for her. Even if it meant getting her heart broken. This was why a crush was not just a crush for Rachel Berry, and it was the reason that it was so easy to crush back.

Rachel had made Quinn feel special. She made her feel good about herself and as selfish as it sounded even to Quinn's own mind, she liked it. And after all this time she knew that even back in high school, when all of these things about Rachel had seemed scary and intense, Finn had probably been just as defenseless as herself against liking Rachel back. Quinn had sat there on her couch and even though she knew that it was better if she let Rachel Berry drop right back out of her life, she had felt an overwhelming need to make things right with the brunette.

It had taken Quinn fifteen minutes to draft the text message to Rachel and fifteen more to decide to send it. She had not gotten a reply back, so she had simply sent her address and left everything up to Rachel, finding a small amount of redemption at the fact that she was no longer being completely selfish. This meeting would be entirely for Rachel, if she decided to show up.

Now Quinn stood in her kitchen trying not to look at the intercom next to the door, trying not to hope that it would buzz. She relaxed into the arms that wrapped around her waist from behind. "Relax, babe, she'll be here." Quinn felt lips on her cheek and then the arms were gone. "I'll let you guys have some time and I'll be back in an hour."

"If she comes." Quinn mumbled as she heard the door close…

Rachel Berry never fidgeted. Well there was the one time before her Julliard audition, but she had quickly reminded herself that she was Rachel Berry and she was going to be a star, and in _her_ mind stars did not fidget. She reminded herself of that this time and much to her annoyance Quinn had ruined her, it didn't have nearly the same effect on her current body that it had on her fifteen year old body. She took a small amount of comfort in the presence of Shane's hand at her back and stepped in front of him as he caught the door as someone else was leaving.

They rode the elevator in silence Shane looking at his friend every few seconds making sure that she remembered to breath. Rachel had changed her mind about a thousand times that week on whether or not she was going to show up at Quinn's, and he had supported her every time, but he had invited himself to go with his co star to make sure that Quinn behaved herself and also to make sure that Rachel didn't forgive her too easily.

Shane kept his hand on Rachel's back because he knew it soothed her. They had been to so many parties and functions together and while she had never really been nervous he knew that she liked to know that someone had her back. They stopped in front of the door and Shane waited as Rachel collected herself and raised her hand to Quinn's door. A moment later the blonde appeared before her muttering something about forgetting house keys, surprise showing on her face as she registered that Rachel was standing in her doorway.

"Rachel." She said sucking in a breath at the sight of the beautiful singer standing in front of her.

"Quinn." Rachel replied in the same tone, "This is Shane." Rachel stepped into the house as Quinn opened the door wider and Shane followed. "Shane, this is Quinn Fabray."

"I've heard a lot about you." Quinn said extending her hand. Shane looked down at it until Rachel elbowed him to stop being rude. He took the blonde's hand and shook.

"Likewise." He said with all of the disinterest that he could muster. Rachel glared at him and he shrugged, the entire exchange and it's meaning not lost on Quinn. For her part the blonde tried not to let her eyes burn a hole in the hand that Shane had placed on the small of Rachel's back as she ushered them into her living room. She fisted her hand and shook it out as she felt jealousy course through it and ripped her eyes away from the rival hand to meet Rachel's eyes just as she turned and Shane invited himself to sit on Quinn's couch.

"I'll be right back." Rachel watched as Quinn left the room and then turned toward her best friend. "You didn't have to be so rude." She scolded Shane when they were alone.

"I'm just getting into my role as the bad cop." Shane said as he leaned back and made himself more comfortable on the couch.

"I know that you are only concerned for my well being, Shane, and while that is certainly extremely flattering and endearing I will remind you that we are in Quinn's home. Even though she did not act in a very acceptable manner toward me I am determined not to sink to the same level of disregard as my new friend and I refuse to let you compromise your own-" Rachel and Shane had been so wrapped up in the lecture that she was giving that neither one of them heard Quinn return.

Shane noticed her first and Rachel stopped talking as she noticed that Shane's eyes were no longer on her and that instead of the mild annoyance that had been present a moment ago Shane's eyebrow had lifted into a rather odd expression as he gazed behind her. Rachel allowed her eyes to close in one split second of embarrassment before composing herself and turning to face Quinn. She opened her mouth to speak, silenced at once by what she saw. "Rachel, Shane, I'd like you to meet my daughter. This is Beth. Beth, sweetie, this is Shane and Rachel." And for the first time since Shane and Quinn had known her Rachel Berry could not form any words at the sight of Quinn's hands on the shoulders of a small girl whose shy smile threatened a giggle when Rachel almost tripped trying to find the couch that she was sure was behind her…

Silentinformer...NAILED IT! lol...hope you continue to like it :)


	6. Chapter 6A

I split Chapter 6 into two parts because I don't know how well I like it (as a whole). I never feel comfortable with dialogue and I am still working on some editing, let me know how it turned out and look for the second part tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for reading and as always reviews and suggestions are very welcome, appreciated and motivational :)

Chapter 6A

"I always thought you gave her away." Rachel said as she and Quinn sat on a park bench watching as Shane played with the smaller version of Quinn.

Quinn looked at her hands, this was one of the reasons that she had not told Rachel about Beth right away. She never liked the guilty feeling in her chest any time that she thought about the fact that she had indeed almost given away her daughter. "I thought I was going to."

"You were very brave not to, Quinn." Rachel sensed the guilt in Quinn's voice and Quinn tried hard not to think about what it meant that Rachel could already read her so easily.

"No I wasn't, Rachel, I was selfish. I saw her and I loved her, and I loved the way it made me feel. I didn't stop to think about how hard it would be for her to grow up with children for parents. Or how me and Puck would never be together. We would never be a real family for her. If I had I would have stuck to my guns and given her a better life." Quinn tried to keep her voice even.

"She's happy, Quinn." Rachel began quietly. "Even I can see that. She adores you. Being adopted myself Quinn I can tell you that you made the right decision for her. She's much better off with you than without you. She won't ever have to wonder where she comes from or why she is who she is. I was blessed with two wonderful fathers who have given me a wonderful life, but there are still things that I don't know about myself, and I know it will always be an empty hole with no hope of getting filled. You saved her from always having to wonder if she would have fit better somewhere else."

The two women sat in silence for a few moments as Quinn digested what Rachel had said to her. "He's great with kids." Quinn pointed out.

Rachel snorted, "That's because he's a child." She laughed and Quinn tried to ignore both the fluttering feelings of pleasure at the sound of Rachel's laugh and jealousy at the sound of her obvious affection for Shane.

Rachel watched as Quinn looked at her phone and sighed. "I have one more thing to tell you, Rachel and you might not like it, but please try not to be upset." Rachel nodded and Quinn continued. "You asked me if I lived with someone and I wasn't entirely honest. It was a knee jerk reaction to the anger in your question, not that you didn't have every right to be upset," Quinn added when Rachel opened her mouth.

Rachel nodded slowly trying to fight the jealousy in her voice, "Was that her, do you have to go?" Rachel asked sadly, finding that she was enjoying sitting here with Quinn even though their conversation had been largely constructed of apologies and silences.

Quinn smiled, "Actually no she'll be joining us and actually, it's not a she."

"Your damn right it's not a she." Rachel looked up as a voice cut in behind her, confused to see who Quinn was talking about. "Sup, Berry?" Noah Puckerman grinned widely back at her and she found herself getting up and giving him a hug as if they were long lost friends. "Sup, Baby Mama?" Noah ruffled Quinn's hair and looked Rachel up and down. "Wow, Berry, you got hot." Quinn scowled at him.

"That's flattering, Noah, it's comforting to know that in a world of infinite changes and surprises, there really are some things that always stay the same."

Puck looked at her weirdly and nodded. "Thanks, Berry, I'll take that as a compliment." He said as he flashed her a grin and slapped her on the back. Quinn just stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. He had told her that he would behave himself when he saw Rachel , and she marveled at the fact that she was sure that he thought that he was behaving himself.

"Daddy!" Quinn smiled at her daughter as she launched herself into Puck's arms, Rachel's friend following closely behind. Puck picked up his daughter and held out his hand toward Shane, "Hey Man, I'm Puck, Quinn's…whatever." He hated any form of phrasing that boiled down to 'Baby Daddy', and while he and Quinn teased each other with the nicknames while they were alone, he never introduced himself that way and neither did Quinn.

Shane took the hand offered him and nodded toward Rachel, "I'm her whatever, Shane."

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked Puck who was now tossing their daughter in the air making her giggle as Shane and Rachel had moved away from the family to give them a moment.

Puck stopped tossing Beth, but didn't set her down as he answered Quinn. "It's been an hour, Quinn, I got your note and decided to join you. You guys talk yet?"

"Fastest hour of my life." Quinn grumbled and shook her head, "Not about everything." She said as she crossed her arms.

Puck shrugged. "Me and the bodyguard can drop the munchkin at her dance class and head back to the apartment, you guys can have another hour and pick her up on your way back." He suggested.

"Yeah if you can rip him away from her side. They had to glare at each other for a full five minutes before he would leave us alone. I think that they have telepathy, Rachel glared and then Shane rolled his eyes and wandered off toward Beth. Somehow I doubt that you have the same glaring abilities as Rachel Berry."

"Babe, he's a dude, I don't need any weird mind lectures or whatever. All I need is three little words, watch and learn."

Quinn watched as Puck walked over to the pair and tried not to smile when Shane's face lit up, He looked over at Rachel and this time it was her turn to roll her eyes and head off toward Quinn. They watched as the guys headed off with Beth all three turning to wave, Puck shooting Quinn a self important smirk at luring Shane away. "We have to pick her up in an hour." Quinn said.-

"I know." Rachel said, "would you like to grab a cup of coffee?"

"So you live with Noah?" Rachel looked at Quinn expectantly when they were seated at a Starbucks directly across from Beth's dance studio.

"Yeah. We've lived together since high school." Quinn winced as she took a sip of her coffee, Rachel waited patiently to hear Quinn's story. "When I decided to keep Beth both of us had a lot to change about ourselves. It was little things at first, we both had to quit Glee, which let's face it wasn't nearly the same without you," Quinn smiled at Rachel.

"I couldn't be a cheerleader anymore, Puck transferred schools so that he could have a better chance at a football scholarship. Surprisingly enough the only people that stuck by me after Puck transferred were San and Brit and Brittany moved the summer before my senior year." Quinn shrugged. "Santana tried to stop the slushies when she could so I didn't get nearly as many as you, but let's just say that the end of my high school career was considerably less glamorous and a lot chillier than the beginning." Quinn shuddered and looked up at Rachel.

"What about the rest of the Glee club, Mr. Schuester? They weren't around to help?"

"Nah, after me and Puck left Finn quit and B moved so they lost Santana and then Tina joined the drama club, the rest of them, especially Mr. Schue, were always just trying to find someone to replace you."

"As I've said before, Quinn I am a very talented actress, a gifted singer and a trained dancer, trying to replace me just seems silly." Quinn almost laughed at Rachel's exasperated scowl. "Mr. Schuester should have been focusing on keeping the group together. When people see a group of close knit friendship it's human nature to gravitate toward it. Nobody wants to be an outsider, if Mr. Schuester understood that he would have kept you guys together. The others would have seen that and singers would have flocked to him and begged him to join Glee."

This time Quinn did laugh as her mind played back the numerous speeches that she had given Mr. Schue when she had believed that he was steering her beloved club in a disastrous direction. "Well, he meant well Rachel, but you were the only one who ever really understood that people just want to fit in, funny though because you never seemed to care if you did. I always admired that about you."

Rachel grinned wider than she knew she should have. "Enough about the man sent to ruin my career, you were telling me a story." Rachel's grin settled into a soft smile as she urged Quinn to continue.

"Puck got the scholarship to OSU and I worked and stayed home with Beth. It worked out well that way because I really had no idea what I wanted to go to school for anyway. When he got a job I started school part time, still not sure what I wanted to do. And then I met this girl and got really into photography and started drawing and painting again."

Quinn took a deep breath and sipped her now perfect temperature coffee, marveling at the subtle changes in the girl across from her. There had been a time, when she had known Rachel before, where it seemed that the brunette was incapable of a conversation where other people talked as well. Now Rachel simply mirrored Quinn's actions by taking a sip of her own coffee and waited for Quinn to continue. "When she mentioned that I should come to New York someday, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I didn't hate my life, in fact I loved it. I had Puck and Santana and a few other friends, my mother and most importantly, Beth, but no matter how well things were going I couldn't shake wanting to get out of freaking Ohio."

Quinn shrugged. "I mentioned it to Puck and the next thing I know my Mother is with us and we're apartment hunting in NYC." Quinn smiled. "It all happened so fast. My mother was super supportive, weird huh? She and Puck found the apartment and she gave us the money to secure the apartment while Puck came out and found a job. We manage pretty well, and it's easier that we live together. Most people don't understand us so it makes it hard for either one of us to be in a real relationship, which isn't so bad for him cuz you know he's Puck. Lacey tolerates it, but she's never happy about it, and they hate each other."

Rachel smiled evenly, though Quinn had just told her that she wasn't getting rid of Lacey, which meant that Rachel would most likely be stuck in Quinn's friend zone. "What about Beth? Does she like Lacey?" Rachel tried to keep the venom from pooling around the other girls name.

Quinn gave Rachel a funny look, "They've never met." Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Beth is a child Rachel and Puck and I both agree that it isn't fair to confuse her. She knows that we're not together, we sleep in separate rooms and we don't always do things as a family, and that we both love her more than anything. We don't want to confuse or upset her by bringing in a third party." Quinn paused and met Rachel's eyes seriously. "When I introduce someone to my daughter I want to make sure that I know in my heart without any doubt that they are a perfect fit for me and my baby."

And the fact that at this moment Quinn had doubt in her heart about Lacey made Rachel's own heart beat with hope as they left the coffee shop to pick up Quinn's daughter…


	7. Chapter 6b

AHHH! Forgot that when I promised another chapter I had a concert to go to...sorry everyone :(  
Hmmmm, in response to a few reviews(btw thanks for all of them it's so appreciated)...Rachel got into Julliard that's why she moved (more on that later), I absolutely LOOOOOVE Puck (no I have no idea why), he is my second fave character, of course Rach and Quinn have a standing tie for first lol, and I thought it would be nice for Quinn to have someone. Rachel has Shane and Puck just made sense to me for Quinn. They do have a daughter together. And finally isn't Shane awesome, never written a character I love so much, but that's just probably cuz I modeled him after the best baby bro ever!  
As always let me know if I should keep posting or throw in the towel. Reviews, suggestions, and comments always welcome.

Chapter 6b

Quinn walked three paces behind Rachel and her daughter and marveled at how well they were getting along. Rachel was a natural with her daughter and Beth, like most children, was happy to be chatting up someone who she believed to be infinitely cooler than either of her parents. It had been Rachel's Beauty and the Beast key chain that had grabbed the little girls attention. When Rachel had been digging through her bag insisting on paying for the food that the trio had stopped to pick up for dinner it had fallen to the ground.

Beth had bent down to pick up the key chain as Rachel had shoved some money at Quinn and readjusted her bag on her shoulder. She handed it back to her and told Rachel with excited eyes that it was her favorite Disney movie of all time. Quinn had watched and listened as Rachel had smiled down at the younger Fabray and explained the importance of the key chain. Rachel had been six years old and it had been her first trip to New York city. She told Beth all about her first day in the city and how it had ended with her Fathers bringing her to her very first musical which happened to be Beauty and the Beast.

Beth's eyes had gone wide as she looked up at Rachel and asked what a musical was. She didn't know but the way Rachel had said it with such reverence Quinn could tell that Beth thought it was something she _should _know. She had been watching their profiles for a few minutes when the words of their conversation had melted away and Quinn found herself smiling as Beth's expression began to reflect the excitement on Rachel Berry's face.

She only became aware that she had become part of the conversation again when she almost ran into Rachel and Beth as they had both stopped in front of her. Rachel whirled around crossing her arms as she glared at Quinn. "Quinn Fabray, you have been in the city for a year and you and Noah have never taken this engaging young woman to a Broadway show? I am mortified and offended at the complete lack of respect for the city's culture that is present before me right now."

Quinn smiled and knew she was sunk. Beth would now begin bugging her relentlessly to take her to a show, she had always had a flair for the dramatic, and been inclined toward the performing arts. She loved her dance classes and she loved singing and putting on little shows for her parents and her dolls. Quinn and Puck both blamed it on the fact that she had spent her entire pregnancy in Glee dancing and singing show tunes all the time, listening to Rachel Berry doing her storm out routines every day. She shook her head and shrugged at Rachel, "We never got around to it I guess."

"Well, I do hope you'll be amending that in the near future. And if you need someone to make any suggestions on age appropriate musicals you have my number. I would be pleased to lend my expertise on the subject. It's very important when choosing one's first show to find one that will both engage and enthrall enough to leave a lasting impression." Quinn rolled her eyes affectionately at the brunettes chatter as the pair turned away from her and couldn't help the tightening in her chest when Beth reached up to take hold of Rachel's hand, not letting go until they reached the apartment door.

Rachel was surprised to hear yelling from the living room as Quinn told her to make herself comfortable for dinner. She recognized Shane's voice yelling "GO!GO!GO! COME ON DUDE NOW!" She and Beth made their way toward the living room and a moment later she heard Quinn's laughter as she came up behind her. Beth ran toward her room and the two women watched their best friends yell back and forth at each other from across the room as both of them jumped to their feet at the same time.

"Dude you fucking suck!" Puck said as he threw himself back onto the couch the look on his face reminding Rachel of that one time in the first grade when the teacher had punished him for looking up her skirt. Puck looked apologetic for the language when he heard Quinn laugh from her and Rachel's position in the doorway. "This is how you did it?" She asked.

"I told you, Babe, three little words. Call. Of. Duty. The only other words that get a guys attention like this involve getting naked, and Shane's not my type. He can barely lay down cover fire." Rachel laughed at Shane and took Puck's empty seat as he followed Quinn into the kitchen to help get dinner ready…

"Told you she would come." Puck said as he laid down on the couch putting his head in Quinn's lap. "Berry's a sucker. OUCH!" He exclaimed as she flicked him in the forehead. "Fuck, Babe, I didn't mean it in a bad way." He grumbled as he rubbed his forehead. "I meant like she's super nice. Beth liked her. A lot. She wouldn't quit chattering about her when I tucked her in. Rachel this and Rachel that. She has it in her head that we're taking her to see a show." Puck looked up at Quinn questioningly.

Quinn sighed. "Rachel may have explained to her what a musical was, she also may have made me promise to rectify the travesty of our little girl never having been to Broadway."

"Fuckin' Berry," he muttered. "I was hoping we had a few more years left before she went into psycho mode. There's no way your friend is turning my kid into a freak though. OUCH! You know what I meant!" He said as he sat up switching his position so that he was at the other end of the couch, this time throwing his legs up onto Quinn's lap.

"Be nice."

"Whatever. What are we going to see?" Puck got comfortable when he knew that Quinn understood that he wasn't being mean, he was just being himself. Actually, he really liked Rachel and her friend even if his COD skills were a little lacking. Puck just figured that it wasn't really his fault, being a part of musical theater must have meant that he was always surrounded by gay dudes, and in Puck's mind gay dudes didn't play Call of Duty. Shane had started to get a lot better just as the girls had shown up and Puck made a mental note to get the guys number, even after being in the City for as long as he had he still didn't have that many buddies.

"I thought I'd let Rachel choose." She said absently.

Puck raised his eyebrows, "What, are you guys like a thing now?"

"What? No."

"You could be if you would quit being so…._Quinn._" He said, lacking a better description. "AH! Are you kidding me?" He scowled at her as he rubbed his leg where she had pulled out what felt like a chunk of his leg hair.

"Just because you can't pick on Rachel doesn't mean you get to pick with me. Rachel and I are friends and she knows that now. I just…enjoy her."

"Yeah well if I were you, I'd 'enjoy' her a lot. She's not so scary anymore, and I happen to know that that girl has an amazingly talented mouth." A moment later Puck was laying on the floor holding his head as Quinn glared down at him having heaved him off of the couch.

"You know it's true, Fabray! The girl's freakin' hot!" He called as she headed toward her bedroom, censoring the 'F' word in case Beth was still awake, but whispering it to himself as he laid there and rubbed his head…

Shane took Rachel's hand as they walked back to her apartment, turned out she and Quinn were within a twenty minute walk of each other. "So how'd it go?" He finally got to ask.

Rachel sighed. It had gone well, even Shane couldn't deny that he had fun hanging out with Puck and Beth, and maybe even Quinn toward the end. "I think it'll be ok. Even if Quinn isn't interested in dating me I know that she enjoys our friendship, as do I." Shane noticed the hint of sadness in Rachel's voice.

"So you're going to keep seeing her?" Rachel nodded, "As long as she wants me too."

Shane's face grimaced in a short second of pain. "Just be careful, Rachel. I know what it's like to want things and people you'll never have." They walked in silence for another moment and Rachel squeezed Shane's hand. "Plus you know Puck and Beth are cool, I don't want to have to kill her if she hurts you again. They might be upset and I kinda like them. It would be a shame to lose potential friends. You think Quinn will give you Puck's number for me?"

Rachel laughed. "Really, Shane, Noah Puckerman?" Rachel calmed her laugh into a smile, "Yes I'm sure that Quinn and I will be able to set up a play date for you boys." Shane scowled at Rachel and kissed her cheek as they walked up to her building. "Now go home and learn how to lay down better cover fire before then."

Rachel watched Shane get into a cab and then let herself into her building, riding the elevator up to the top, thinking about everything that she had learned that day about Quinn. There were a few things that still worried her about getting involved with the other girl (especially since they were only friends), one being the fact that seeing Quinn in person had done nothing to squelch the bubbling crush still growing inside of her, another being the jealousy that had gripped her stomach the very few times that Quinn or Puck had mentioned Lacey. Rachel's phone went off as she was grabbing her things to get ready for bed.

'**I hope you know that you doomed me and Puck to a lifetime of Broadway musicals…Beth won't stop talking about you…'**

'**I am Rachel Berry, the poor girl never stood a chance. Now get her to a show!'**

'**lol. Was hoping that you would go with us and help us pick something out'**

Rachel stared at the message, unsure of how to proceed. She dropped into a chair at her table and sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she was quickly becoming powerless against the blonde. A moment later she sent off a message as a last defense telling Quinn that she would think about it…

PS Don't own Glee or any of it's characters...just thought I should throw that in there every now and then...


	8. Chapter 7

Hi everyone, been a little under the weather, but will try to post one more before the weekend...  
It's sweet everyone's so worried about Rachel, I am too lol, that's why I gave her someone awesome to look after her :)  
Try not to be too hard on Quinn, she's complicated. And for everyone who hates Lacey- Hate on!  
(Especially after this chapter...she's kinda slimey). And before I leave you to the story just want to add that I read a lot (like A LOT, maybe too much)  
of fanfic and let me just say that it is always really cool and flattering to get encouraging comments from my favorite writers, most of you probably already have, but if you haven't, check out anything by pseudohuman. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the comments and reviews they are appreciated and welcome as always...let me know if you want more :)

Chapter 7

Lacey knew that Quinn was pulling away from her. She had felt it for a while, ever since about three months ago when she had woken late at night to find Quinn hiding out in her bathroom talking on the phone. At the time she had assumed that it was Puck, Quinn tended to pull away from her every time her baby's father was near and for the most part Lacey just chalked it up to Quinn being Quinn.

Lacey had counted them together for almost as long as Quinn had been in the City. They had met at a party when the frat guy that Quinn had come to the party with was trying a little too hard to get into the blonde's pants. Quinn had already been in a panic trying to push him off of her when Lacey had stepped into the room and pushed him off. Quinn had immediately been grateful and Lacey had immediately been infatuated.

She had known since the very first time that she had seen the beautiful woman that she had to have her and she had relentlessly played on Quinn's weaknesses to get her. Not a fact that she was incredibly proud of, but true nonetheless. Firstly she recognized that Quinn's gratefulness to Lacey for saving her from frat boy could be used to her advantage. That was how she had gotten in the door, so to speak.

Secondly, she knew that Quinn had pretty much no one in the City. In the beginning she had not known about Puck or Beth. She had started to call her a couple of times a week and invited her to hang with her and her friends during breaks at school. That had turned into going out and eventually had led her to discover the third thing that had helped her nail Quinn. As beautiful and sexy as she was, she had found out after a few trips to the bar that Quinn was incredibly self conscious. When she had discovered this small contradictory detail she had used it to her advantage and began telling Quinn how good she looked and had progressed to calling her beautiful and sexy.

And finally, Lacey learned that Quinn could not hold her alcohol. This turned out to be the most important fact in Lacey's arsenal of weapons against the ice princesses defenses and Lacey used it more than she would have liked. Quinn had been tipsy the first time that she let Lacey kiss her and completely drunk the first time they had made out. After that it had gotten a little bit easier, but Lacey still had to let Quinn get herself buzzed before the first time they had sex.

The next morning she had found out about Puck and Beth. The blonde had woken slowly next to her and when she realized where she was and what had happened she had bolted out of bed and frantically ran around the room trying to collect all of her discarded clothing. She had managed to grab a hold of the other girl long enough to pull her back onto the bed and tell her to stay. Lacey had kissed her and succeeded in getting Quinn onto her back only for her to push Lacey off of her and continue dressing. When Lacey pressed her further, Quinn had told her in a soft voice about Beth and Puck. When she was done she had grabbed her things and left Lacey's apartment leaving her to weave all of the pieces together and form a plan to hold onto the beautiful woman who had just left her apartment.

Lacey blew out a breath into the darkness as she heard her girlfriend's breathing even out. She gave her five more minutes and when she was sure that Quinn was sleeping she slowly and carefully climbed out of bed and made her way into the living room to retrieve Quinn's jacket. She sat down on the couch and flipped open the phone, taking a deep breath as she opened Quinn's messages.

Lacey had never been able to explain it, but she wanted Quinn like she had never wanted anyone in her life. Quinn was the perfect girl to build a life with and the perfect girl for her to bring home to her family (even though she had yet to let Lacey set up a meeting with them). Quinn was sweet, beautiful and agreeable, three things that Lacey loved considering she knew her own personality was more inclined toward controlling. Until recently Lacey had not had any trouble holding onto her, but in the last few months something had changed. Given everything she tolerated from Quinn, especially things like Puck and the fact that she had never met Beth, she found that she had absolutely no guilt for what she was about to do.

She read Puck's thread first given that it was the longest.

'**Get laid yet? Hope so yr getting kinda bitchy. Beth says goodnight and she loves you we'll c u in the am'**

Lacey rolled her eyes as she scrolled through the rest of Puck's messages, finding them mostly about plans centering around Beth. She found her own messages and noticed that the time that it took for Quinn to respond to her had gotten longer and longer over the last few weeks. And when she went down further she found one marked 'RB'. Lacey's chest tightened and she stabbed at the screen to bring up the messages.

She read through the entire message thread and to her surprise found messages from earlier that night when she had left Quinn alone at their table to dance with some of her friends.

**Me: Boo!**

**RB: Stop, you'll scare Shane. What's up?**

**Me: Nothin, was bored and wanted to see what you were up to…**

**RB: Shane, Heather and I are having dinner and then we are off to a show. They both say hello. What are you up to this evening, Quinn? You and Puck, and of course Beth, are welcome to join us. Heather's younger sister's high school will be performing The Sound of Music, so of course it is age appropriate. It does not start until eight so you still have time to make it.**

**Me: Have plans, but we should all get together soon…**

**RB: Yes we should, are we still on for tomorrow morning?**

**Me: Yup. Tell Shane Game on. I'll leave u guys to yr fun, wish I was there…night XOXO**

**RB: Goodnight, Quinn.**

Lacey clenched her teeth and balled her fist. Quinn had never had many friends beside her, choosing to spend all of her free time with her daughter (which even Lacey begrudgingly thought was admirable of her girlfriend). Suddenly she had three? More importantly three that she had never heard of. She had a sudden flash of anger and an urge to go into the bedroom and confront Quinn about whoever RB was. Just the fact that she used initials instead of an actual name was suspicious to Lacey, but when she calmed down she decided to keep quiet for now. Whoever Quinn had been spending her time with, they had no idea who they were dealing with…

"Seriously, Rachel, you're not going to even fly out and audition with him?" Heather looked at her friend incredulously. "This could equal stardom for you and you're not even going?"

"You're wasting your breath." Shane cut in around Heather.

"I just don't think that it is an optimal time for me to leave the City." Rachel said lightly as she brought her wine glass to her lips. The play had been wonderful and the three friends now found themselves having a drink as they were all off the next day.

"Rachel this is big, you might not get another chance."

Rachel scoffed, "I'm Rachel Berry, I make my own chances . I just don't want to leave right now. I really enjoy what we're doing and it will be hard enough to replace Shane, both of us leaving would be detrimental to the show so you should be grateful that I have decided to stay."

Heather rolled her eyes. "You mean you 'enjoy' Quinn Fabray." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt Shane's foot connect with her shin. Everyone at the table knew that Rachel was staying for Quinn, but at Shane's request Heather had always refrained from speaking of Rachel's feelings for her friend. Tonight though she was on her fourth drink and she knew that had this been six months ago Rachel would have been there already lined up for her audition.

Rachel stiffened. "Quinn and I are just friends. I want her to be happy."

"So what are we wearing to the Tony's" Shane changed the subject before he had to witness Rachel's sad eyes. It only took a second for Rachel's face to brighten and Shane sighed because he knew Rachel well enough to know that it was forced.

"I was thinking of looking this week? Are you guys free?" Rachel forced herself to brighten her smile at her friends, but knew that Shane would know that she was faking. She knew when she had decided to be friends with Quinn that she was getting into dangerous territory and at first she had tried to take Shane's advice and stay away.

Rachel had kept a cautious distance from the blonde ever since finding out about Beth and Puck, but found that she liked all three of them. She also found it easier being friends with Quinn and Puck than anyone she had met thus far in New York, including Shane. When they had first met, although Shane obviously admired Rachel's talents as a performer, they annoyed the hell out of each other. Over time they had simply gotten used to each other and had since fallen into their current friendship. Rachel had always known who she was and she knew that even now that she was an adult she was still Rachel Berry. She still had a tendency to give advice that people didn't want, every now and then she still talked too much and there were still times when she said the wrong thing simply because she was being honest. She knew that people found her annoying, which made it very hard for her to make friends.

Getting reacquainted with Quinn and Puck had been easy because they were used to her, they had spent their whole lives being annoyed by Rachel and her high strung attitude, so the watered down version of Rachel Berry didn't seem as intense and off putting as high school Rachel Berry. "You are coming with Shane and I this week, Heather. We will not go through what we went through last year."

The subject changed had worked as Rachel shook her head and jumped back into the conversation, but Shane frowned at her comment, "Didn't we agree to never mention that again as long as I'm alive."

"Hey it all turned out." Heather said sheepishly into her glass…

Quinn dashed into her apartment and checked to make sure that Beth was still sleeping before she grabbed her clothes and headed to the shower. Lacey had held her up for an extra hour this morning and now she was running late. Quinn sighed as she felt the water cascade over her skin relieved to be home, Lacey had been sweet last night, but this morning she had seemed short with Quinn and they had an argument before Quinn had dashed out of her apartment.

Lacey had started to bother her again about meeting Beth. "I've been around for a year and a half Quinn, I think I've proved that I'm not going anywhere."

To which Quinn had replied, "I just don't think it's the right time is all. I know that you put up with me and all of my shit, and I love you for it, but I don't know yet. And I have to talk it over with Puck before we do anything."

"Who gives a shit about Puck, Quinn. I'm your girlfriend and I feel like I should get to be a part of your life more often than every other weekend."

"He's Beth's father, Lace and I wouldn't be standing here if not for him. Please let's not do this today I'm late." Quinn knew that Rachel was never late and they had plans for this morning.

Quinn had leaned in and kissed her cheek as she dashed toward the door, barely registering the fact that Lacey's face was a deeper shade of red than she had ever seen it before. Right now she had no time to dwell on it as she heard Puck greeting Rachel and Shane…

"You totally cheated! Rae, come on!" Rachel giggled at the pout that was present on Shane's face and shook her head. "Women." He grumbled. "You always stick together."

"Dude, it's hopscotch." Puck said from his spot on the ground next to Beth who was busy drawing chalk pictures next to Rachel. "Mommy, can we eat now?" Beth asked as Quinn took a seat on the other side of Rachel and leaned over her to see what the two of them were drawing.

"Yeah, I guess we can. Loser has to go set up the blanket." Quinn grinned at Shane. "Relax, I'll help you." She rolled her eyes when he scowled.

They were carrying everything over to the grass when Shane spoke. "I have the audition in a couple weeks, I'll be back for the Tony's and then I'll be heading out to LA to shoot for six months. I don't know how often I'll be able to get back." He paused until Quinn looked up at him. "I don't know what your doing, but do me a favor and don't break her."

"Rachel and I are friends, I would never hurt her."

"Cut the crap. I might like you against my will, but Rachel is my best friend and you have no idea what you do to her. Just for a moment let's be real with each other. She doesn't know how hard it's going to get. If you haven't noticed I conveniently invite myself with you guys whenever you hang out, but I'm leaving and I won't be here for either of you to use as a shield. She'll fall for you even more without me as a buffer."

"It's not true, Rachel's always been…high strung. But we're friends and It was only a crush I'm sure she's over it by now. She hasn't fallen for me."

Shane smiled and shook his head. "I hope she gets over it, you don't deserve her." And before Quinn had a chance to offer a reply Rachel, Beth, and Puck joined them carrying the last of their picnic supplies…


	9. Chapter 8

I loooove reviews and comments, they make me smile :)  
It's funny though cuz I am about three and a half chapters ahead on this fic and when I read them (reviews and comments) I sooooo want to spill everything that's gonna happen.  
It's like when I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and I totally wanted to spoil the end for everyone..like literally it's making me squirm:)  
This was originally two separate chapters, but I decided to roll it all into one, so it's sort of long...let me know what you think, as long as you like it, I'll keep giving ya more...

Chapter 8

Rachel held Beth's hand in a rare moment of nervousness as they followed the girls parents to the rental car. Rachel bent closer to the six year old when she tugged on her hand. "It's ok if your scared. Sometimes Grandma scares me too." She said confidentially into Rachel's ear.

Rachel smiled at the little girl and felt her fear melt away. Shane had been at his audition when Quinn and Puck had told her she should take a trip back to Lima with them, so he had not been there to make sure that she didn't go. In fact he still didn't know, she was planning on calling him later tonight and telling him where she was and she knew that had he found out beforehand what she was planning on doing he would have talked her out of it.

Quinn had to go back for Santana's graduation and Puck had decided to accompany her to see his mother and sister. They had convinced Rachel to come with a number of dirty tactics. Puck had gotten Beth to flatter her by reminding her that she had not been home since she had gotten famous. He himself had brought up her fathers and Quinn, well all she really had to do was ask and Rachel was helpless, but she had also thrown in a pouty look and Rachel was sunk.

That was how she found herself standing with the three of them as they loaded all of their luggage into a rental car and headed toward Rachel's house. The plan was for Rachel to visit with her fathers and get some rest, while Puck and Quinn did the same with their own families. The next day Puck and his mother were keeping Beth while Quinn and Rachel headed over to see Santana.

Rachel spent most of the ride laughing at Beth as she talked about her grandparents and she was surprised at how fast the time passed when Puck pulled up in front of her house. Rachel waved goodbye to her friends and headed into her house quietly. "Rach! Is that you, honey!" Rachel turned to the sound of her Daddy's voice just as he was coming through the kitchen and into the hall.

"Hi, Daddy." She said as he practically ran toward her and enveloped her into a bear hug. Rachel went to pull away, but found that he wasn't done hugging her yet and laughed as her other Father came out to join them and wrapped his arms around both of them.

"We missed you honey." He said when everyone finally let go.

Rachel felt a huge smile spread across her face as she leaned in to give her Parents another hug as she reciprocated their sentiments. When they finally got finished marveling over how different and grown up and beautiful their daughter was, Rachel picked up her bags and headed up to her room promising to come down for dinner as soon as she was settled in.

Rachel climbed the stairs to her room finding a few new pictures decorating the walls next to all of the old ones. She smiled at a Polaroid of the three of them having lunch at Battery Park the last time they were in the city. She stared at the picture for a few more seconds before turning toward her bedroom. Rachel took a deep breath and opened the door. She didn't know exactly what she expected, but everything was exactly as she left it. Rachel walked into the room and set her things down wandering into her closet and bathroom and found that even here her fathers had left everything as though she would be back any time. She smiled as she laid back on her bed, closed her eyes, and remembered what it felt like to be fifteen…

When Rachel had finished eating dinner and catching up with her fathers she headed up to her bedroom and found a message waiting for her.

'**Every time I come back It feels like I've never left'**

Rachel smiled and threw herself onto her bed before she replied.

'**Tell me about it. I just finished dinner and a movie with my Fathers while they told me how wonderful I am…I feel like I should be recording a mySpace video right now :)**

Quinn laughed out loud and looked up to see Puck, her mother and Beth all looking at her. She shrugged. "It's Rachel." She replied.

"Mom, tell Rachel I miss her and goodnight."

"Let's go, Munchkin, teeth brushing time." Puck grabbed his daughter leaving Quinn and her mother to catch up. Quinn sent Rachel another message and then turned to her mother.

'**Beth says to tell you she misses you and goodnight…I miss you too, see you tomorrow'**

Rachel sighed as she sent Quinn a goodnight and flipped onto her back, looks like it's time to call Shane, she thought. "Hello?" Shane's voice sounded irritated.

"Hey what's up? Where are you?"

"At the airport, my flight got delayed, so I won't get home now 'til tomorrow. Want to grab some lunch?"

Rachel paused and pulled a face trying to decide how exactly to break the news to him. "I'm sorry, Shane I won't be able to see you until Monday." She paused again and took a deep breath. "I'm in Lima visiting family."

"Well that's good, Rae." Rachel could tell he was distracted and she could literally hear his brain putting everything together as he spoke again. "You never see your family, I think-Wait a sec. You never go home" Shane let out a groan. "Aww, Rachel tell me you didn't."

"In my defense, it was not only Quinn who asked me to accompany them. They joined forces against me, Puck, Beth and Quinn."

"We talked about this, Rae. You were supposed to call me. You promised you would call me before you did anything ridiculous." Rachel had Shane's full attention now, and while she did value the amount of caring that Shane had for her, she was not a child.

"Shane I am a grown up. I saw my Fathers for the first time in ages, which was really nice. I am going to relax for a few days, see some old friends, and Quinn just happens to be here. I will be fine. If It turns out to not be fine, I will come home early otherwise I expect to see you for dinner on Monday." Rachel spoke with determination and finality in her voice, letting Shane know that the subject was closed. "Now how was your family, happy to see you?"

Shane sighed as Rachel turned the tables on him. "They were fine. As always I was thankful for Ally, she asked about you by the way, says hi. As for the rest of them, my mother fed me so much that I still feel like I might explode, My brother made sure to remind me that even though he's younger he can still kick my ass, and my father did a better job than usual ignoring me. Except when they dropped me at the airport and he took me aside and asked me if I needed money." Rachel could hear Shane's eyes roll…

* * *

Rachel, Puck and Quinn walked up to Santana's house ready for a party. The ceremony earlier in the day had been nice and then they had all gone to lunch with Santana and her parents, who were nice enough to let their daughter take over their house for a graduation party. Puck led the way with Quinn right behind him, and Rachel trailed behind still feeling somewhat out of place. She tried to tame her smile as Quinn reached behind her and took Rachel's hand tugging on it so the brunette was walking beside her.

Rachel tried not to think about how much it calmed her to feel Quinn's hand wrapped around her own. Or about how right it felt, and how well they fit. Rachel and Quinn had become very close over the last few months, but they were very careful with the boundaries that they had placed on their friendship. They rarely touched, even to hug goodbye, which Rachel did often with Beth and even Puck. So Rachel reveled in the heat of Quinn's hand in her own and tried not to be too disappointed when they reached the front door and Quinn dropped her hand.

When they stepped inside the party was already in full swing and Puck grabbed Rachel's hand and tugged her over to where a makeshift bar had been set up. Rachel felt helpless as he mixed her a drink and shoved it into her hand. "Come on, Berry, drink up. Game on." Rachel looked for Quinn as she sighed, regretting mouthing off earlier to Puck about being able to drink him under the table.

"I don't think this is a good idea. Noah."

"Oh no you don't. A bet's a bet. Drink up or when we get home You're my slave for a week." Noah tipped back his own glass and downed half of it. Rachel sighed and put the glass to her lips, shaking her head before she downed the entire glass of whatever Puck had just poured for her.

Quinn watched amused as Puck led Rachel straight to the alcohol and shoved a drink in her hand. She giggled as she watched the look that Rachel was giving Puck and she didn't hear Santana come up behind her. "Holy shit. Berry's pretty hot." she said as she watched Quinn's friend.

Quinn looked over at her friend and recognized the look in Santana's eyes. "San." She warned.

"What? Are you guys like a thing?" She asked after the possessiveness she heard under Quinn's warning.

"No. You know I'm still seeing Lacey."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Hey we should all get together I'd love to meet the girl that transitioned Quinn Fabray. I'll be in New York in a month or two for this Job I got." Quinn didn't like the way Santana's eyes had still not left Rachel as Puck poured them another drink.

"Seriously, San. She's not just another piece of meat." Quinn crossed her arms and glared at her friend who finally had the grace to stop staring at Rachel and turn toward her friend.

"Fine, whatever." Santana rolled her eyes. "But I should tell you Finn's gonna be here tonight."

"So they broke up in high school." Quinn watched Rachel and Puck laughing and talking with some of Santana's friends and she tried to squash the jealousy that coursed through her when some strange guy reached over and touched her arm.

"Yeah well, when I ran into him the other day and invited him to the party he didn't seem that eager to join us. But when I mentioned to him that you and Puck were bringing Rachel Berry his eyes lit up like fuckin' fireworks and he told me he'd be here when he got outta work." Santana smirked at her friend, downed her drink and headed over to where Rachel and Puck were standing. She would definitely not make any moves on Rachel, but she knew that there would always be a part of her that viewed Quinn as competition and that same part of her found it slightly amusing to get under her blonde friends skin…

* * *

Rachel and Puck were on their fifth drinks and Puck could see that she was starting to get a little tipsy. And even though Rachel Berry was turning out to be the most fun, charming drunk he had ever met, he knew that if anything happened to her Quinn was very likely to kill him. So even though it went against every badass bone in his body, he had been mixing Rachel's drinks slightly less potent than his own.

He watched as she danced with one of the guys that had been hanging out with them since they had told him about their bet and even though he had seemed like a cool guy, Puck had a sudden urge to punch him as Rachel tripped against him and he copped a feel. Puck surveyed the room in time to spot Quinn red faced and glaring at the guy when he didn't let Rachel go and headed over to them before Quinn did something stupid.

"Hey Berry, get over here. I'm not under the table yet." He said as he put his hand on her shoulder. Rachel turned and smiled at him excusing herself away from the dancing area to follow Puck. Puck sat Rachel down and grabbed them a couple of drinks thinking about how weird it was that he actually cared about Rachel freakin' Berry. He rolled his eyes at himself and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "What happens in Lima stays in Lima." He gestured to the guy that Rachel had been dancing with and laughed at the way she blushed when she locked eyes with the guy.

Rachel smacked Puck on the arm playfully, but leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Don't let me leave with him, Noah. I don't want to hurt her." Puck swallowed at the seriousness in Rachel's voice and felt a tug at his heart. He knew Quinn far better than anyone and even he still had trouble scaling the walls that she kept around herself. He wondered at the statement just how deep Rachel's feelings went for Quinn and wondered if Quinn knew the damage she was doing to the girl beside him.

Puck left Rachel with Quinn and went outside to grab some fresh air and bum a cigarette from someone. It had been a long time and he felt the familiar burn in his lungs before he let out a stream of smoke. "Dude, that stuff'll kill you." Puck looked behind him to the half smile of his old friend and one true regret. He didn't know what to say to the guy in front of him. When he switched high schools he and Finn had pretty much steered clear of each other, even during games. Puck never had the heart to hit the guy even for football.

Finn shrugged when Puck didn't say anything and held out his hand. "What's up, man?"

"Not much, you?"

Finn shrugged. "Been hanging around Lima for a while, thinking about joining the real world soon. I have some interviews in Cleveland next week. Kurt is gonna let me stay with him for a while, 'til I find somethin'. I think our parents are getting tired of having me around all the time." He said with a smile to show he didn't blame them. "How's Beth?"

"She's beautiful, man. You should come and meet her sometime, hang out in the city with us for a few days."

"Yeah maybe. And Quinn? Are you guys…I heard you were living together…" Finn let his voice trail off.

"Nah, man. We're friends. We help each other out, and we love Beth." Puck laughed. "I'm not exactly Quinn's type anymore, probably never was. Besides you know me, playin' the field.

Finn laughed. "Guess some things never change."

"Yeah that's what Berry says too." Puck noticed Finn perk up at Rachel's name.

"So it's true then, she's here." Finn smiled.

"Yeah, man she's here, but be careful. I might have gotten her sort of trashed." Noah finished his cigarette and flicked it away looking up in time to see Finn scowling at him. "Whoa, dude. It's not what you think." He said as he held up his hands remembering the last time Finn had punched him. "She was talking smack earlier and we made a bet. Berry's a friend, I don't think about her like that, well I try not to anyway." He said with a smirk that earned him a playful shove from Finn.

"She seein' anyone?" Finn tried to be casual.

"She lives in New York, dude. You live in Ohio."

Finn shrugged. "I know. I know that Rachel and I had our shot," Finn shoved his hands in his pockets. "She just has this…thing about her that makes you feel like you're…unstoppable ya know. I just thought it might be nice to see her that's all."

"Well here's your chance. But remember you make her cry again and I'm gonna have to pound you this time." He grinned at Finn and nodded toward Rachel as she made her way over to them.

"I never thought you'd go soft Puckerman." Finn laughed at Puck's look.

"We'll see who's soft when I'm kicking your ass." He smiled at his old friend, weirdly happy that it hadn't been awkward for them to slip back into friendly conversation. He really had regretted hurting Finn, for the longest time he had been the only one who accepted Puck, and not told him what fuck up he was on a daily basis.

"Noah, you abandoned me to Santana and she has grabby hands." Noah laughed at Rachel's look of indignation. "it's not funny, while I do admit that Santana is somewhat attractive and I am somewhat less in control than normal it does not give her …" Rachel's voice trailed as she noticed who was standing next to Puck. "Finn. I didn't know you were going to be here." Rachel looked up in surprise and Puck excused himself, but not before meeting Finn's eyes to remind him of the seriousness of his earlier warning…

Quinn clenched her jaw as Rachel laughed at whatever Finn had said and tightened her fist as they got up to head to the area everyone was using as a dance floor. They hadn't left each other's sides since they had walked back into the house and it was making it impossible for Quinn to have any fun. "Why don't you just go over there and ask her to dance or something?" Santana set a beer in front of Quinn and then sat down next to her.

"It's complicated." Quinn said as she grabbed the beer with one more scowl at Finn before turning toward Santana.

"I hate it when people say that. You like her, I'm fairly certain that she likes you. What's the problem." Santana rolled her eyes.

"The problem is that I'm not you. I can't do what you do, just go after something I want without stopping to think about the consequences of everything I do. I have responsibilities. To Puck, and Lacey and most importantly to Beth. I can't give Rachel everything she deserves. Just because I'm the one choosing to keep our friendship a friendship doesn't mean that it hurts me any less." Once Quinn started speaking it was hard for her to stop and all she could think about as she dropped her defenses for a split was what Shane had said and the way that she had been catching Puck looking at Rachel with sympathetic eyes every time they were together.

"You should be happy, Quinn. Whatever responsibilities you have, you should be happy." Puck was heading toward them and Quinn tried to shake off the tears that had started to form in her eyes.

"I thought I was…" She said quietly as Santana threw her arm around her and both of them smiled as Puck came up to them with shot glasses in his hands. "You guys look waaaay too serious." He said with a grin. "Come on lets do a shot with some old friends." He gestured toward Rachel and Finn and Quinn reluctantly followed Puck toward the couple.

"You should sing for us Rach." Finn said. The five of them were sitting around a table and after a few more drinks, which Puck had happily supplied, they were actually having a good time catching up and talking about Glee. Rachel giggled and shook her head. "I don't think so. You want to hear this voice you'll have to pay for it just like everyone else." She teased.

"Awww, come on Rach, please. For me." Finn gave her his most charming smile and Rachel returned it with one of her own before getting up and walking toward him to sit in his lap. "You are so cute. You know that. I forgot how adorably charming and sweet you could be." Finn grinned as she held his face in her hands when she spoke to him and Quinn tried not to gag as she got up to move around the table toward the brunette. Rachel's lips were just brushing Finn's cheek when she lost her balance and fell into Quinn's arms.

They stayed that way for what seemed like forever to Rachel, but was only a second to Quinn. "Take me home." Rachel whispered, mesmerized by Quinn's eyes staring into her own. Quinn swallowed and nodded pulling Rachel close to her hoping her face wasn't flushed as she told Rachel to say goodnight to everyone. "Goodnight everyone!" She called to the room and then turned back toward Finn and Santana. "Shane and I will be performing in New York before he leaves for his movie. You are welcome to come hear me sing then. It was very nice to see you both again." She smiled at the three remaining friends as she let Quinn lead her away…


	10. Chapter 9

Author's note: Yeah sorry for the wait, there's a few reasons this was sooooo late-  
My car broke and I was too depressed to write, My head hit concrete at work and I was too concussed to write, I listened to a song and had an overwhelming idea for another story that took me about five days to write, I decided to insert a chapter in a place where there was no chapter (lol) and it was sort of forced so it took me a minute to write, and finally my dad loves me and bought me a new car and I had to take overtime at work so I can pay him back as soon as possible, but excuses excuses...  
So to make it up to you I have this chapter now and if you're still interested in the story another chapter ready to post later...let me know :)  
Thanks to all readers, reviewers and commenters, I love you ;)

Chapter 9

Quinn drove back to Rachel's house in silence. Every now and then she would let her gaze flicker from the road and fall on the brunette sitting next to her. Most of the time when she glanced over Rachel was sitting with her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips as her chest rose and fell and Quinn thought that she had fallen asleep until she glanced over and saw that Rachel was staring at her. "I can feel you looking at me Quinn." She said as she broke the gaze and tried to clear her head a little.

Rachel shrugged and closed her eyes again trying to ignore the fact that her body had a sudden urge to expel all of the alcohol that she had consumed. Quinn glanced over at her again trying to be a little more stealth this time and Rachel let out a tiny groan. "Tell me if you need me to pull over."

"I don't get sick, Quinn. It's bad for my voice." Rachel murmured.

"You had fun, huh?"

"Mmm." Rachel said non committally as she closed her eyes again. "It was weird to be at a party hosted by Santana." Rachel said when Quinn didn't push her and when a few deep breaths had helped her manage her stomach. "But nice. Santana is much more pleasant without the Cheerios uniform." Rachel looked over at Quinn. "And so were you."

"No I wasn't, Rachel. I was still awful."

Rachel let the silence fill the car as she thought about Quinn Fabray as she had been in high school. There had been a number of times during the course of the last few months that she had found her thoughts wandering toward her teen years in Lima, but usually she was blessed with a busy schedule and a busy mind and she never had time to dwell on it. Sitting in a rental car, drunk off her ass and suddenly Rachel Berry's thoughts had nowhere else to go. "Yeah, but once the uniform was off, your heart wasn't in it anymore." Rachel smiled and closed her eyes again as she let her head rest back against the seat.

"Why'd you leave, Rachel? After Glee got a second chance and Finn told you he loved you?" Quinn took her eyes off of the road and looked over at her companion. Rachel's eyes were still closed but Quinn could tell by the tone of her voice that the smile that tugged at her lips was a sad one.

Rachel thought about the question that Quinn had asked and tried not to think about the reasons that she had left Lima. She swallowed the sudden urge to be sick and turned her mouth into a small smile. "Maybe one day when I'm not so drunk I'll tell you about it." Quinn watched Rachel's throat move again as she swallowed and repeated her previous offer to stop the car. When Rachel took a deep breath and shook her head Quinn went back to watching the road. "Do you love Lacey, Quinn?"

The question pierced Quinn's ears into deafness as it rolled around in her brain for what seemed like an eternity. No one had ever questioned her feelings for Lacey before, and for whatever reason Quinn wanted to be honest with Rachel when she answered this question. She let the silence steal all of the oxygen in the car before she answered. "Sometimes." She said quietly.

Rachel felt the car stop and turn off. She accepted Quinn's answer as the truth even if she knew it was a deflection and opened her door. She was surprised when she lost her balance and even more surprised when Quinn caught her as she had not even seen the other woman get out of the car. "Is that enough for you?" She asked as she met hazel eyes.

"Sometimes." Rachel didn't know why, but she giggled at Quinn's answer and the blonde threw one of Rachel's arms around her shoulders and led her toward the house. She was still giggling when they walked in the house and Quinn did her best to shush her while trying to get an answer on where her bedroom was.

Rachel's giggles went silent when Quinn pushed her up against the wall and put her fingers over Rachel's mouth. "Shh. We don't want to wake your fathers. They probably won't be happy at your current state. Where is your bedroom?"

Rachel was aware that Quinn was talking but she couldn't quite sort out what the words were because she had suddenly become hyper aware of their position. All she could feel was the wall at her back, Quinn's fingers on her lips and her other hand steadying her gently by the hip and her breath tickling her cheek as Quinn whispered to her urgently. When she met Quinn's eyes for the third time that night her own were dark, almost black with desire and Quinn tried to look away before she did something that they would both regret.

Just as she was about to drop her gaze and take a step back from the brunette Rachel whispered, "Kiss me." And then Quinn couldn't tear her eyes away and she couldn't move. "Please," Rachel pleaded in a whisper. "Just once, I'll probably forget about it by morning." And even as drunk as she was Rachel knew it wasn't true. She knew that if Quinn allowed their lips to touch it would be the only thing she ever remembered.

Quinn sighed and leaned her forehead against Rachel's, fighting with her mind and body over Rachel's request. Rachel's hands had snaked around her neck and her own hands were resting on Rachel's hips as the space between them slowly disappeared. Rachel closed her eyes and her breath hitched as she felt Quinn's body so close to hers, she could feel the heat from Quinn's mouth when she felt the blonde push away from her causing her to lose her balance.

Quinn lost her battle as soon as the word please escaped Rachel's mouth and she moved in slowly to grant her request when she heard a throat clear behind her. A moment later and they were both blinded by the light being turned on and Quinn jumped back toward Rachel to keep her from falling. The little brunette clung to her as she tried to shield her eyes from the light and Quinn looked up into the eyes of Rachel's fathers, ready for them to flip out. "Do you girls have any idea what time it is, we thought you were an intruder." Quinn noticed the bat in his hand as he looked at them disapprovingly.

"Sorry, sir." Quinn met both men's eyes as she apologized wanting to convey her sincerity.

"Sorry, Daddy." Rachel mumbled into Quinn's shoulder. Quinn noticed both of the men's faces soften at the sound of their daughters voice. "Quinn." Rachel looked at her and Quinn winced at her expression. The commotion had caused Rachel's face to become pale and panicked and Quinn looked back at her Dads. "Bathroom?" She asked quickly. The Berry men both pointed and moved out of the way.

Rachel and Quinn sank to the floor and Rachel's fathers watched from the doorway as the blonde rubbed their daughters back and whispered soothingly in her ear. "I can not get sick Quinn. I haven't thrown up since I was in second grade and my gag reflex stopped working." Quinn chuckled and leaned back over to whisper in Rachel's ear. Rachel curled tighter into a ball and clutched her stomach as Quinn continued whispering to her and a moment later the tiny girl sprung up and leaned over the toilet.

Quinn gathered Rachel's long brown waves in her hand and held them at the back of her head as her other hand soothed over Rachel's back. When she was finished she helped Rachel stand and took the glass of water and Tylenol that Rachel's father (the one she had called Daddy) held out and gave them to her friend.

"Toothbrush?" She asked and he disappeared for a moment and returned with one along with a bottle of Listerine. She smiled and turned back to his daughter.

"Well I can see that she's in good hands. Her bedroom is upstairs, last door on the left. I'll leave the light on for you." With those words he gave Quinn an amused smile and turned to go back to bed.

Quinn helped Rachel brush her teeth and led her up the stairs to her bedroom. By this time Rachel was ready to pass out and she was dead weight on Quinn's arm as she let Rachel fall onto her bed. She rifled around and found some pajamas and sighed as she walked over to the bed and pulled Rachel into a sitting position. She tried not to let her fingers graze against Rachel's skin as she lifted the small dress over the singers head, but they did anyway and she noticed Rachel shiver as she did her best to hold her arms up so Quinn could undress her.

To her credit Quinn only froze for a moment at the sight of the dancer's body clad only in black lace before she shook her head and scolded herself. She pulled the blankets up over Rachel and turned toward the door when she heard Rachel's voice, "Stay." Her voice was weak with exhaustion and Quinn turned toward the door …

* * *

Rachel woke the next morning with a dry mouth and a light dizziness in her head. She groaned as she sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes as she caught sight of a bottle of Tylenol and Gatorade sitting by her alarm clock. She shook out three pills and opened the Gatorade, noticing that it was almost noon. She groaned again and headed toward her bathroom.

"Morning, Daddy." She said as she poured some coffee and sat at the counter in front of her father. "Where's Dad?"

"Morning, Baby Girl. He had an emergency at the hospital, but he says we're still on for dinner later." Rachel smiled as she sipped her coffee, as always liking the way her Daddy's nickname for her sounded to her heart. "So….Someone had fun last night." He gave her a mischievous smile and she blushed under his gaze.

"Sorry we woke you." She said sheepishly into her coffee cup.

"It's a good thing. I think you were trying to get back to New York without introducing us to your girlfriend." Rachel blushed a deeper red remembering the position that her parents had discovered them in.

"She's not my girlfriend, Daddy." Rachel replied and Brian arched an eyebrow at the longing he could hear behind her words. "It's complicated." She said by way of explanation.

"Mmm. Love always is when you're young." He smiled at his daughter and tousled her hair. She slapped away his hand playfully and when their laughter had died he spoke again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rachel shrugged. "She's seeing someone else, she's as stubborn as I am and she refuses to admit that we are perfect for each other." Brian tried not to chuckle at his daughter's scowl, and his heart warmed that fame had not ruined his pride and joy. She was still herself in every way possible, she was still stubborn and impatient and gave her heart so easily while wearing it on her sleeve. It was the last part that worried him the most he had seen what people's cruelty had done to his daughter in the past and he hoped this new girl wouldn't hurt his baby. "I don't think she even loves this other woman."

Rachel frowned thoughtfully and her Daddy reached over and covered her tiny hand with his own. "Well after what I saw last night I know that she cares a lot about you, maybe she just needs some time, honey. It's never easy to leave a relationship."

"Snails move faster than this woman, Daddy!" Rachel exclaimed.

Brian laughed and hugged his daughter and kissed the top of her head affectionately. "Well anyone who holds your hair back and brushes your teeth for you is worth a little waiting. Just do me a favor, Baby Girl, and don't wait too long okay?" Rachel rolled her eyes at her father telling her to be careful with her heart and then hugged him back. "I love you too." She told him with a smile as he carried his coffee and newspaper into the living room…


	11. Chapter 10

So anyway, I'm lame and fell asleep last night before I could post this so here it is. I'll try for one more before the wkend...  
Sorry for the 'It only gets worse before it gets better' syndrome I seem to be suffering with this story, but I'll tell you this: I love happy endings so at least you know it will get better eventually...hope you guys aren't bored by then.  
If I don' get to another chapter today, have a great wkend! Thanks as always for reading :)

Chapter 10

They had been back home for a week and Rachel was thankful that she had been so busy. It left her little time to think about her trip to Lima with Quinn and her family. Shane had grilled her for their entire dinner date about what had happened and Rachel had told him pretty much everything, conveniently leaving out the part where she had tried to make Quinn jealous by flirting with everyone at the party and the fact that every night before she fell asleep her body ached for the warm feeling of Quinn sleeping beside her.

Rachel tried not to think about Quinn helping her change into a t shirt and the warmth she felt when Quinn had let her fingers ghost over Rachel's skin. She had pulled back the blankets and gently helped Rachel get under them and when she turned to leave Rachel remembered the vulnerability in her voice as she asked Quinn to stay. It felt like so long that Rachel thought Quinn had just left until she felt a dip in the bed as Quinn crawled in beside her.

Rachel heard a knock at her door and shook all thoughts of Quinn out of her head. She was shopping with Heather and Shane today for something to wear for the concert they were giving tonight and for the Tony's. She had barely even talked to Quinn since they had gotten back, but Rachel felt a nervous pull in her stomach because she knew that Quinn would be at the concert that night.

"I'm ready. I apologize for being a bit distracted today." Rachel began as she grabbed her keys and swung open her door, but instead of finding Shane or Heather at her door she came face to chest with Finn Hudson. Rachel was startled for a moment before smiling up at him. "Finn what are you doing here?"

"You invited me." He said simply and took the hug Rachel offered him as he stepped past her into her loft. "Puck gave me your address when I told him I was thinking of surprising you." He grinned. "I can only stay for the night, but," he shrugged. "Seeing you the other night made me realize that I missed you and I wanted to hear you sing." He said shyly.

Rachel smiled at the flattering way that Finn was acting and then frowned. "I have friends on their way over. We have to buy things for tonight and look at clothes for the Tony Awards. It is completely unavoidable." Rachel was surprised to find that she was actually upset that she would be unable to spend any time with Finn.

"I could shop with you?" He suggested. "I'm sorta used to it. Kurt's my stepbrother remember." Finn replied off of Rachel's look. "And maybe we could go for a drink or something afterwards." Finn suggested as he followed Rachel back down to the street…

* * *

"So that's the famous Finn Hudson, first love of Rachel Berry." Rachel rolled her eyes at Shane and smiled when he pulled up a stool and sat beside her as she put the finishing touches on her make up. "Well I have to say he is quite charming in a dopey little puppy dog way. I can see why you liked him."

"Like him." Rachel corrected him, and it was true. Hanging out with Finn today had reminded Rachel that just as Finn had admitted to her, she actually missed him. She had forgotten how easy everything with Finn was. She wasn't still in love with him any more than he was in love with her, but they had always been good at being together, even when Finn was crushing her heart. Rachel was looking forward to hanging out with him again tonight. "You're coming with us tonight after the show, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Shane said with a grin thinking about Quinn squirming in her chair while Rachel flirted with Finn. They had been at it most of the day and even Shane had felt himself get a little jealous at their obvious chemistry and easy going flirtation. Maybe Finn coming to see Rachel sing would be good for her, at least it would get her mind off of Quinn for the night…

* * *

Rachel had not made a conscious decision to make Quinn jealous that night, but by the look in the blonde's eyes she knew that she was. She felt a little guilty, but she was having a good time with Finn and over the course of the night she had felt the same attraction to him that she had always felt. It had been so easy for them to slip back into being Finn and Rachel, and for once Rachel didn't have any crazy ideas of them living happily ever after. She had a feeling that this made it easier for Finn as well.

Finn had felt awkward earlier in the night sitting between Quinn and Puck, who had seemed to be having some sort of disagreement given that they had refused to sit next to each other. He couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with him. When he had gotten a hold of Puck earlier in the week and told him of his plans to surprise Rachel he had seemed pretty excited about it and even told him that Finn could crash on his couch for the night. Now for whatever reason he seemed kind of hostile toward him and he couldn't help getting the impression that it had something to do with Quinn and the fact that she pretty much hated him.

As soon as they had entered the club though he had gravitated toward Rachel and not left her side despite the looks that he kept getting from Quinn and even the other guy that they had been shopping with earlier. When he and Rachel were back at her loft (which he absolutely loved) he had asked if she and Shane were dating and Rachel had simply laughed him off and replied, "Sometimes I think we are." Rachel had pretty much closed the door on the subject and Finn had shrugged his shoulders letting Rachel have her way.

They moved easily on the dance floor together and Finn was surprised when Rachel let him pull her closer to him into a more intimate position. They talked as they moved to the music and Finn remembered how amazing her laugh was the few times he had said something funny in her ear. He only realized that he had been hogging all of Rachel's time when Shane tapped him on the shoulder and asked Rachel for a dance. And even though he didn't want to let go he graciously handed Rachel over to her friend and walked back to their table in search of his old buddy.

Rachel smiled up at Shane. "You look like your having fun." He said into her ear.

"I am." She replied with a smile.

"Well just be careful, Rae, I'm pretty sure he's banking on getting lucky tonight."

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe he might." She said seriously, she couldn't deny it to herself let alone others that she had been tossing the idea around in her head since the night began. "I've certainly been entertaining the idea."

"You think that's a good idea?" Shane pulled away and gave Rachel a look.

"Why not?" Rachel asked defensively. "It's certainly been a while since I've been with anybody and it's not as though Finn's a stranger. He's attractive and he respects me."

"It's what he came to town for, Rae. That's not respectful." Shane felt Rachel stiffen in his arms and when she pulled away from him she was scowling. He had no idea what he had done to make her so angry so he stood helplessly and watched her storm toward the bathroom.

Puck watched as Quinn glared at Rachel and Finn moving on the dance floor again. They had been pretty much attached since they had entered the club and Puck had watched as Quinn had too much to drink and sat fuming at them from across the table, every now and then turning toward him to glare. Of course she blamed him for Finn being here and he admitted that it was sort of his fault, but he was getting sick of seeing the longing in Rachel's eyes every time they all got together. He figured if he could get her laid it would help her move on from Quinn who he secretly thought was stupid for not going for it with the girl.

He watched as Quinn swallowed the rest of her drink and saw the look of determination in her eyes as she zeroed in on Finn and Rachel on the dance floor. He caught her arm as she stood from the table and met her eyes that were blazing with jealousy. "Let her have her fun." He told her seriously. He had never interfered with Quinn's life before now, but he liked Rachel.

"She's just going to get hurt again." Quinn scowled.

"Berry's a big girl, Quinn and it don't look like she's protesting much. And if you're not gonna give it to her, there's worse guys in the world to do it than Hudson. He cares about her and he'll respect her enough to be there in the morning when she wakes up." Puck unknowingly echoed Rachel's reasoning to Shane.

Quinn rolled her eyes at Puck, "You know none of this would be happening if you hadn't encouraged Frankenteen to visit." Her eyes flashed at Puck, they had been arguing about Finn all day and they both felt their blood rising again as they jumped right back into their argument. Quinn stopped mid sentence, even more annoyed at Puck when she saw that Shane had beaten her to Rachel. She jerked her arm away from Puck when she saw that the brunette was storming off to the bathroom and followed her, not able to supress the smirk on her face at the sight of Shane's dumbfounded look.

Rachel was scowling into the mirror when Quinn entered the bathroom and before she could stop herself she turned her residual anger at Puck and Finn toward Rachel. "Are you going to fuck him?"

Rachel's scowl deepened as she turned toward Quinn. "Please do not be so crass, Quinn. And so what if I do? What do you care?" She glared at Quinn and when she didn't answer Rachel crossed her arms and moved to walk past her friend.

Quinn froze at Rachel's question and for the first time she let herself think with full force what she had been scared to think all along. She wanted to tell Rachel that she cared because she wanted to be the one to take the performer home, she wanted to be the one kissing her and touching her and making love to her, but the only thing that came out as Rachel brushed past her was a whisper. "Don't." She didn't turn around, but she felt Rachel stop and could feel the other woman's eyes staring at her. "Please don't sleep with Finn." Quinn finally turned around and was surprised to see the tail end of Rachel's angry expression settle into hurt.

"Why not?" She asked as she met Quinn's hazel eyes.

Quinn swallowed. "Because I don't want you to." She said quietly. Quinn's breath quickened as Rachel's eyes never left her own and the diva stepped slowly toward her. Quinn could feel her heart beat faster as Rachel closed the distance between them and pinned Quinn to the sink behind her. She wasn't prepared for this reaction and she struggled to form a thought at what Rachel was about to do. Her throat tightened as Rachel closed her eyes and leaned closer to Quinn and she almost lost herself as she felt Rachel's lips barely make contact with hers. And as she felt Rachel's body get even closer to her own Quinn panicked and turned her head from Rachel's mouth.

Rachel tried not to let a sob escape from her mouth as Quinn turned away from her and let her head rest on the blondes shoulder for a moment until she blinked back her tears and pulled away from the taller girl. "Rach, I just don't want you to get hurt is all. Finn came into town so that he could sleep with you. I don't want you to put yourself through that again."

Quinn could hear the pain in Rachel's voice when she spoke again. "You're as bad as Shane."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn resented being compared to him and she crossed her arms at Rachel.

"I'm an adult Quinn. I can look after myself and I know the same things that you know. Both of you think that you have my best interests at heart, but the truth is you're both scared and selfish. Finn is a decent guy, you of all people should know that. And yes, there is a possibility that he visited tonight so that I would sleep with him, but is that so bad?" Quinn stared at Rachel as a few silent tears slid down her smooth cheeks. "All of you care about me, but none of you want me."

"Rach," Quinn reached out to comfort the girl, but Rachel stepped away from her.

"Finn has been nothing but a gentleman since he arrived. He hasn't propositioned me, or pressured me, but I know by the way he looks at me that he wouldn't say no to hooking up with me. I'm not a silly little girl anymore, Quinn. I know that whatever happens tonight Finn and I aren't getting back together and we're not starting some epic romance that will lead to happily ever after. I know that we don't love each other the same way that we used to, but I'm attracted to him and he's attracted to me." Rachel paused and the pain in her voice deepened as she met Quinn's eyes "Tell me, Quinn, is that so bad? Is it such a horrible thing to want to feel _wanted_?" When Quinn broke their gaze and looked down at her feet shamefully Rachel let out a breath and walked past her in search of Finn…


	12. Chapter 11 and 12

Hey, felt bad for not posting in a while so gave you two chapters. I'll try not to get distracted again and I'll also try to get another chapter up before the wkend since these two are mostly just filler...hope you like them anyway, let me know...  
Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on the last chapter it is always appreciated :)

Chapter 11

As soon as the door closed Finn's tall frame pushed Rachel against it and she took a deep breath as she looked up at him. His eyes were intent and questioning as he gazed at her and after a beat Rachel nodded. Finn leaned down and kissed her softly and she pulled him closer to her as Finn's hand moved down over her hips and thighs to get reacquainted with her body.

Their kisses grew more urgent when Finn leaned down and hooked his hands under Rachel's thighs and lifted them around his waist. Rachel groaned now and pulled herself against Finn, locking her legs behind his back as he pushed her into the door. She had forgotten how much she had always enjoyed Finn's tall frame against hers and for a few glorious moments the man in front of her was the only thing she thought of.

Finn carried her across the room to the couch and smiled down at her, careful not to put all his weight on the tiny girl beneath him. She smiled back and he leaned down to claim her lips again. Rachel's hands had made their way underneath Finn's shirt and he separated them enough for her to pull it over his head. A moment later and she lost her dress and couldn't stop herself from grinding against the rough cotton of Finn's pants.

It was only when her body was shuddering as Finn's hands ran skillfully over her breasts that she heard the word 'don't' echo in her head and she gave a frustrated sigh as she tried to ignore it by reaching for Finn's zipper, but it was all she could hear. When Finn's hands found their way beneath her underwear Rachel swore. "Fuck." Half from what Finn's fingers were doing to her and half from the fact that she had to put a stop to this. She sighed as she let her body have one more moment of what it craved before she placed her hand gently on Finn's shoulder.

He stilled his hand immediately and pushed his body off of her as he looked down at her. Rachel groaned again when she saw the look in his eyes and his hair mussed from her fingers, "Nothing," Was her breathless reply and Finn smiled before resuming his actions and leaning down to kiss her stomach. Quinn's voice was louder this time and thinking about the blonde was turning her on even more and somewhere in her clouded brain she knew this wasn't fair to Finn.

He was tugging at her panties when she placed her hands over his and pulled away from him carefully. She knew that if she moved just right she wouldn't be able to pull away from him at all. Finn seemed to understand and carefully moved his hand away from her body and sat up giving the woman some space. "Sorry, Rach." He said with concern. "I thought you were into it."

"I was. I am. God you have no idea." Rachel breathed out when she looked over at him again.

"Oh." He looked so confused that Rachel felt a little sorry for him and tried to explain. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with someone else and I keep thinking about them."

Finn nodded his understanding and tried to calm his breathing, "Would it help if I told you that it didn't bother me?" He was half serious, but when he noticed Rachel trying to cover herself with her dress he handed her his shirt and she smiled gratefully. They sat in silence for a few more minutes each one trying to cool down and neither one quite ready to move. They both finally laughed a few minutes later when Finn turned to Rachel with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Uh, Rach, Can I use your shower?"

* * *

Quinn sighed as she stared up at the ceiling listening to the sound of her air conditioner as it spat cold air into the room. Lately it seemed as though every thought in her brain somehow led her to Rachel and there was nothing that she could do about it. Right now she was laying awake thinking about Lima. More accurately she was thinking about the way that Rachel had curled her body into Quinn's when she had asked her to stay. She was thinking about the comfortable heat of Rachel's sleeping body next to hers that had made it impossible for the blonde to fight sleep. She had only meant to stay until the singer had fallen asleep and instead had woken the next morning beside her. On top of that she had almost let Rachel kiss her. Quinn groaned and threw the blankets off of her and headed toward the kitchen.

She went quietly not wanting to wake Beth or Puck, but found him on the couch quietly (for once) playing Call of Duty. Puck took one look at Quinn and sighed. "Hey, dude I gotta go, we on for tomorrow? Shane and that ZombieBread dude are in for 8:00." Quinn put a cup full of water in the microwave as she watched Puck say goodbye to whoever he had been playing with. When she had her cup of tea she went over to the couch and sat down next to Puck. He was silent as he pulled off his headset and fiddled with his controller.

Quinn hated that things had been strained between them lately, she didn't know why but he still hadn't forgiven her for the previous weekend and it had all come to a head last night when they had gone out with Lacey and her friends and a girl from Puck's work. Rachel and Shane (of course they had made up already, Quinn rolled her eyes) had taken Beth out to see Wicked before he left for Hollywood and then the three of them were having a sleepover at Rachel's house. Rachel had invited Quinn along with them so hesitantly that it actually felt like she was being uninvited so she had chose to let them have their fun.

Quinn had gone out with Lacey and Puck had invited himself along easily enough and Quinn was glad because she hated that they were sort of fighting. Puck had walked into the restaurant they were meeting at with a friend and Lacey frowned. "Where's Beth?" She asked as Puck and his friend sat down.

"With a babysitter." Puck shot at her, he hated the way his daughters name sounded on her mouth.

Lacey had rolled her eyes and turned toward Quinn. "I thought you said that you don't use a babysitter."

"Well, I do." Puck piped up wishing that Quinn was dating a guy so that he could just deck the dude. "And it's my weekend, besides Rachel and Shane are friends not random strangers." Lacey scowled when she recognized the names from Quinn's phone and Puck scowled back at her.

"You know what this was a huge fuckin' mistake." Puck stood hating the way that Lacey placed her hand on Quinn's shoulder when she tried to get up as well. And more than that he hated the way that Quinn just sat back down in her chair. "See you at home, Quinn."

They sat in silence as Quinn sipped her tea and held a cookie out to Puck. They had both finished the snack Quinn had brought to the couch when Puck finally broke their silence. "Sorry about last night. It's just that sometimes I really just wanna punch her in the throat."

"Well then you might not like this, I invited her to the park next Sunday." Puck looked at her like he wanted to murder her. "I had to give her something after last night."

"How bout a fuckin' boot to the curb?" He asked angrily. "What about Berry? You just gonna spring it on her, or you gonna give her some warning?"

"She's not even speaking to me, Puck. I doubt she'll even show up."

"You're wrong, she will and you should be decent enough to warn her."

"Why are you so pissed at me?"

"Because, Fuck Quinn. I've known you for our whole fuckin' lives. You're as badass as me. You're the girl who punched me in my eye for trying to kiss you in the fourth grade. You're the girl who jumped that fucker in junior high who made Brit cry when he told her that puppies turn into dogs and die. The same one that threatened to cut Karofsky's balls off if he ever slushied you again. I know you better than anyone. And I know that the woman you've turned into over the last couple years is not you. You're letting that bitch play off of your insecurities. And she doesn't love you enough not to. You're turning into your mother."

"It's my choice and you know why. You were there. As you've pointed out you know me better than anyone. It's better than the alternative."

"So that's what this about? Let it go, Quinn and get over your Daddy issues."

Quinn leaned into Puck feeling herself lose her temper. "Please, we both know how much our Daddy issues have shaped both our lives so spare me your self righteous crap. And you should know better than anyone about playing off of my insecurities."

"I was sixteen, Quinn! She's a grown fuckin' woman!" They were shouting at each other now and Quinn advanced toward Puck as she yelled at him. Both of them froze when they heard a small voice behind them. Both of their anger died as they took in the sight of their little girl. "Are you guys mad?" Beth asked. They looked at each other with apologies and then headed for their daughter. When they had calmed her down and gotten her back to sleep (she had asked for three lullabies) they found themselves back on the couch.

"I'm sorry." Quinn said quietly.

"S'cool. At least if you can still get pissed at me I know you're in there somewhere. Promise me a few things though?" Quinn nodded. "Give some serious thought to your relationship with Lacey. Call Rachel before Sunday. And for fuck's sake lay down some ground rules with that bitch before she meets my baby. If she tries to treat her the way she treats you, we're gonna have problems."

Quinn nodded he was serious, but he wasn't mad at her anymore and she liked that because somewhere over the last seven years he had become her best friend. "Promise."

Puck got off the couch , hesitating in the doorway before turning back to Quinn. "You know if it helps you sleep. Nothing happened. I'm not telling you this because I think you deserve to know, but they didn't do it. I was playing Soul Cal with Finn earlier. He said she found him and she was upset. She kissed him at the club and he pushed her away cuz she was crying. They walked around the city and talked while she calmed down and she kissed him again outside her building and invited him up. Things got intense and she told him that she was in love with someone else. He used her bathroom to take a cold shower, they ordered vegan pizza, talked about you without revealing your identity. Then she made him watch Rent before he fell asleep…on the couch."

Quinn closed her eyes and cursed herself because it would help her sleep. "Quinn. She's a good girl, she loves you, she loves Beth, hell she even loves me. And I think she could catch whatever you throw at her, think about that." Puck turned back toward his bedroom, but he didn't want to go to bed feeling like a total girl so he added in soft yell, "Plus, she's fuckin' sexy as hell!" And he could hear Quinn snort as he closed his bedroom door…

* * *

Chapter 12

Puck and Lacey walked awkwardly about ten feet behind Beth and Quinn as the made their way to the park. "Who's Rachel?" Lacey asked as they watched Quinn talk to Beth.

Puck smirked. "It's called competition, and I think it's healthy." He loved getting under Lacey's skin and this was perfect. They had hated each other from the moment that Quinn had introduced them and at the beginning he used to love implying that he was still sleeping with Quinn. Every now and then when he really wanted to piss the both of them off he would still kiss Quinn on the mouth or smack her on the ass when he said goodbye to her. He really thought Lacey was horrible and for whatever sick reason loved reminding her that he had been there first.

Lacey shook her head. "I don't know what she sees in you. You really are vile." Lacey shook her head. She had woken up that morning vowing not to let Puck get to her, and to make a good impression on Beth. She should have known he wasn't going to make it easy. The fact that Beth had thrown open the door excitedly expecting Rachel had also not done anything to help her temperament, but she had covered up her irritation at the girl when Quinn came running up behind her daughter and apologized.

"I know you are, but what am I?" Puck watched his two favorite women in front of him and laughed when Lacey scowled at him and asked him if he was five. "Don't lose your temper there, wouldn't want Q to see the real you now would you." Puck paused for a moment before revealing his ulterior motives, "You know if you mess up with Beth it's over right. It's the only reason I agreed to let this happen today. The sooner she dumps your ass the better." He said as he ran to catch up with his girls.

They were sitting in a circle in the grass eating when Beth's eyes lit up. Puck followed her gaze and his eyes lit up as well. "Rachel!" Beth yelled as she hopped off the ground and ran toward her throwing her arms around her.

"Hey Beth." Beth took Rachel's hand and led her back over to the blanket where the three adults were still sitting. Rachel fiddled nervously when she noticed the brown haired woman on the blanket move a little closer to Quinn and her stomach sank as she knew this must be Lacey. She did her best to smile and held out her hand. "Hi. You must be Lacey. I'm Rachel Berry. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Quinn tensed and breathed a sigh of relief when Lacey took Rachel's hand and didn't make a scene. "Can you excuse us for a moment." She said as she hopped up and led Rachel away.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked as she led Rachel far enough away so that they wouldn't be heard. "I mean I'm glad you're here, I just don't want you to feel awkward. I'm sorry, I tried to call."

"I'm sorry Quinn. I didn't know that you were having company or I would have stayed away. I just-I-" And for the first time Quinn noticed that Rachel was on the verge of tears.

Rachel hung her head and Quinn took her hand and tried to lean down and make eye contact with her. "Hey, Rach what's wrong?"

"I don't know. It's been such a bad week. Shane left for LA. I botched two lines this week, seven dance steps, and three notes. Heather's mad at me because I knocked her off balance last night and I missed you, and Beth and even Noah because I have no one else. And the director told me to take a week off. A week, Quinn. What if they terminate me? I don't know what I'll do if I can't perform. I'll be ruined." Rachel let a tear or two slip and Quinn pulled her close.

"Aww, Rach. He's not going to fire you. He'd be crazy, you've got way too much talent. You know that. He's probably worried about you and wants to take some pressure off of you for a while." Quinn rubbed her back and Rachel got control of her emotions and glanced over toward Lacey. "I'm sorry, I should go. Thanks for listening for a minute. Do you mind if I say goodbye to Beth?"

"Why don't you stay?"

Rachel smiled as she dabbed the last of her teas from her eyes. "We both know that could end badly, but I'll call you tomorrow or something we can get together." Rachel hesitated before she spoke again, "And I promise from now on to remember that we are just friends. If you're with Lacey then I respect her and I won't put you in a position to jeopardize your relationship."

"Rachel, I'm sorry about the other night. I. I know I had no right to do what I did and I-" Rachel cut her off.

"Quinn, I am nothing if not honest. I don't think you're in love with her, I do think that you could be in love with me, but I won't let you do that to me again. I won't try to kiss you again and I won't ask you to kiss me again. For lack of a superior phrase the ball is in your court, and I can wait. But my Daddy gave me some sound advice which I plan to take."

"What was that?" Quinn asked.

Rachel smiled. "He told me not to wait forever." She sniffled away the last of her tears and turned back toward the blanket to say her goodbyes.

* * *

Rachel had stopped to run a few errands after she had left the park and even though she was still pretty much miserable she had felt a little better after seeing Beth and talking to Quinn. Even the sight of Lacey at the park that day had not been as debilitating as Rachel had thought it would be. And it kind of made her smile when Lacey had just barely been able to hold back her glare of hatred when Beth had chimed in "Don't forget mommy!" after she had given Puck and Beth hugs goodbye.

She had just dropped her things in her bedroom and situated herself on the couch with a book when the doorbell rang. She tried to contain both her surprise and her pleasure at the sight of Quinn and Beth standing at her door, both holding overnight bags. "Mommy said you were sad, cuz you missed Shane so we decided we would have a sleepover to cheer you up."

Quinn's heart quickened at the smile that graced Rachel's features and followed her daughter into the apartment. It was the first time that she had been in Rachel's apartment and she immediately felt out of place. "Wow, Rach, this is really amazing."

Rachel just shrugged. "It's nothing, you should see Shane's place." Rachel took Quinn's bag from her hand and threw it on the couch and Beth flopped hers next to it and then threw herself on Rachel's extra fluffy couch and giggled as she bounced on it.

"Beth sweetie, don't jump on Rachel's couch. Sit nice ok." Quinn followed Rachel into the kitchen and watched as Rachel went through her cupboards.

"Hey you know you can relax and make yourself at home, Quinn. Have you two eaten?" Quinn shook her head. "Well I have not been shopping yet since I am rarely home to cook." Rachel's face darkened a little at what she was thinking of as a suspension, but she only let it linger for a moment before she turned to Quinn and smiled. "Would you be opposed to having something delivered?"

Two movies and Forty dollars worth of food later Beth was tucked away in Rachel's bedroom and the two adults were sitting on Rachel's couch each with a glass of wine, Quinn surveying the mess that they had made. "Oh my God, Rach," She said as her glass came away from her lips. "Look what we did to your house. I'm so sorry."

Rachel just laughed and shrugged, "I like it. It feels more alive this way. I can't tell you how happy I was to see the two of you , Quinn. I've been going very nearly insane and this is only the second day of my punishment."

"So are you free all week?"

"Well, no, I have a charity dinner to perform at on Tuesday and an audition on Thursday."

"An audition?" Quinn sipped her wine.

"Yes. My obligation to this show is coming to an end in only three months and it's not nearly as fun without Shane there. Heather and I tend to bond over our love for Shane, take him out of the picture and we're not as close as we think we are." Rachel shrugged. "I was thinking of trying to find something off Broadway for a little while, I have enough money saved and I could do without such a grueling schedule for a little while.

"How is Shane?"

Rachel sighed and Quinn felt a pang in her chest for Rachel missing her friend. "He's good. Hollywood will suit him." She said with a smile. "I'm going to visit him in a couple of weeks. When do summer classes start?"

Quinn groaned. "Later this week. Which reminds me I have an assignment to get started on already." Quinn made a face and stuck her tongue between her teeth as she finished her wine and set her glass on the table.

"You know Quinn it occurs to me just now that you have mentioned a few times that you are a struggling art student, and I have yet to see any of your art."

Quinn blushed. "It's nothing special, Rachel."

Rachel, who had spread out on the couch and seen fit to throw her legs onto Quinn's lap smiled wickedly at the blonde from the other end of the couch. "Well judging from the pornographic pictures of me that will forever grace the walls of the McKinley High School bathrooms, I would have to disagree. Especially now that you have had formal training."

Quinn laughed in spite of her embarrassment and hung her head. "I'll show them to you sometime." She promised, trying not to notice the perfectly content feelings that were running through her body…

* * *

Rachel looked down at her phone and frowned, not recognizing the number. "Hello?"

"Hey, Berry. It's Puck." Rachel frowned again as her mind quickly ran through a thousand scenarios that would have Noah Puckerman calling her phone, none of them good.

"Hello, Noah. Is something wrong?" Rachel held her breath as she waited to see if any of her ridiculous thoughts were true.

"Nah, everything's cool. But there was this freak thing that happened and Beth's Day care thing is closing early. I tried to call Quinn's phone a million times, but it must be off and there's no way that I can get outta here right now. I don't want to bug ya, but I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor and pick Beth up and drop her off at the NYU campus with Quinn?"

Rachel let out the breath that she had been holding and smiled. "Of course, Noah, I would be honored. Thank you." On the other end of the phone Puck rolled his eyes, having no idea what the hell Rachel was thanking him for and rattled off all the information that Rachel would need to drop off Beth.

Beth took Rachel's hand happily as they left her daycare and swung them as they walked toward her mother's school. "Can we get a hotdog?" Beth asked. Rachel shuddered a little at the thought, but nodded her head. When the little girl had her lunch in her hand she held it up and asked Rachel if she wanted the first bite. "Mom and Daddy always try to take the first bite."

Rachel shook her head politely at her and smiled. "I'm a vegan, Beth." She said.

"What's that?" She asked as she took the first bite of her hotdog.

"Well," Rachel looked down at Beth thoughtfully. "It means that there are certain foods that I chose not to eat. Meat is one of them." She said carefully, thinking about how impressionable Beth was.

"Oh." Beth munched on her lunch and the pair of them walked in silence for a few minutes and when Beth finished her hot dog she spoke again. "Maybe I should be a vegan. Do you like not eating meat?"

Rachel smiled as she handed Beth back her bag. "Well, Beth that is a very big decision that you should talk over with your mommy and daddy." Rachel's smile grew when Beth reached up to take her hand again as they approached their destination. "Are hamburgers meat?" Rachel nodded.

A thoughtful look settled on Beth's face and after another moment of silence she spoke again. "What about Bacon?" Rachel nodded and the girl's face fell a little. "My Dad makes breakfast on Saturdays. My mom loves Bacon and so do I. We have that and eggs and potatoes and French toast cuz that's my favorite. Cept for the bacon. Well at least French toast isn't meat, right?" She smiled up at Rachel hopefully.

Rachel winced. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but vegan's do not eat eggs either, or milk and those are both in French toast." Rachel bit her lip in order to keep from laughing when Beth looked up at her with a look that was so much like her mother that it made Rachel's heart tighten with affection.

"You must be hungry a lot." Beth said seriously. Rachel finally laughed and assured the small girl that there were a lot of things that she could eat. When she was finished naming a few of them she laughed again because Beth had barely been able to contain her face as Rachel listed some of her favorite vegan foods.

Rachel spotted Quinn as soon as they entered the court yard where Puck said that they would find her and frowned when she saw Lacey and a group of what she figured were friends sitting around the blonde. She immediately straightened her face a moment later as she remembered what she had told Quinn Sunday in the park. They were just friends. Rachel let Beth swing their hands as they approached the table and smiled when Quinn looked up at them.

Lacey's friend Tara had been in the middle of a story when Quinn caught sight of someone approaching their table. When she looked up to see who it was it took her a moment to process her daughter was holding onto Rachel Berry's hand as they neared the table swinging their arms back and forth as the two of them laughed at whatever they had been talking about. Quinn felt her heart swell in her chest as she realized how at ease the two of them looked and, even though she tried, could not contain her smile as Rachel met her eyes and smiled at her.

"Mommy!" Beth flung herself into Quinn's arms and Quinn gave Rachel a questioning look. "What's going on?"

"Noah called me. It seems as though there was an emergency at Beth's Day care and they had to close early. He let me have the honor of picking Beth up since he was unable to abandon his duties at work. He told me where I would find you and said that I should drop Beth off with you for the day."

"Oh Crap. I must have forgotten to turn my phone back on after class. I'm so sorry, Rach. I hope we didn't interrupt anything."

"Suspension, remember?" Rachel said pointedly.

"Yes, I remember." They stood awkwardly, both of them knowing that the rest of Quinn's table were staring at them. "Well, I better go. I'll talk to you later, Quinn." Rachel turned to walk away when she felt the blondes hand grab hers.

"Wait." Quinn smiled at Rachel's nervousness that she still had not dropped her hand. "Stay for a minute. Finish lunch with us and I'll show you and Beth what I've been working on." Quinn led Rachel back to the table without waiting for an answer and went around the table, "Hey guys," She looked at Rachel and started pointing. "This is Katie, Lisa, you know Lacey, Tanya, Chase and Sara. Guys, this is-"

"Rachel Berry." Rachel and Quinn both looked over at Sara and Rachel's polite and nervous smile widened at the redhead. "As if you need an introduction. I've seen your show three times, it's my favorite musical. All three times from the very far back, but I don't think that it took anything away from your performance. I think you and Shane Sanders are the best leads the show has had in years. My dads have been taking me since I was like ten. Quinn why didn't you tell us you had famous friends?"

Quinn laughed at her, Sara was her favorite out of Lacey's friends and right now she was barely containing her excitement over the diva. "Sara's a theater major." She said as if that explained everything. Quinn and Rachel each took a seat on one side of Beth and Quinn carefully placed a perceptible amount of space between herself and Lacey as Sara attacked Rachel with questions.

Quinn marveled at how well Rachel charmed her friends and frowned when she became aware of the fact that Lacey was the only one at the table who was actively ignoring the diva. She didn't have much time to dwell on it though because as the conversation went on around her Beth tugged on her arm. "Mom, I'm bored. Can't we go home?"

"Sweetie I have a couple more classes and then we can go. And if you sit really quiet I'll let you pick dinner tonight." Rachel who had been enjoying Quinn's friends and trying to ignore the looks that Lacey kept shooting at her had not missed the exchange between Quinn and her six year old. She waited politely for an opening and leaned over to whisper in Quinn's ear. A moment later Quinn nodded and looked down at her daughter. "Rachel says you can hang with her for the day. If you want to abandon me." Quinn said dramatically.

Beth's face lit up and she jumped off the bench. "Yes! Come on, Rachel let's go!" She grabbed Rachel's hand and Rachel stood and turned back toward the table. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you. Sara, I am more than likely leaving the show in a few months and I would love to have you at my Farewell performance, if that would be something you would be interested in?"

Quinn laughed as Sara took a calming breath not wanting to seem like an over excited fan. "Oh my God! I would. Love that!" Rachel smiled warmly. "Well, I'm sure that Quinn has all of your information, so I will get It from her." Sara smiled and Quinn watched as Beth skipped along beside Rachel, not being able to stop the anticipation at seeing Rachel later that night…


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks everyone for hanging in with me, I know it's taking practically _forever_ to get Rachel and Quinn together, but hopefully at the end it will be well worth the ride, also I changed the rating on this because I went back and read the whole thing start to finish for the first time since I started this and apparently I am a little more in love with the 'F' word than I thought. So just to be safe and not offend anyone who's not expecting it I hiked it to 'M'.

This chapter is waaaaayyyy loooong because I couldn't find a chapter break anywhere and I have a feeling that it's a trend which means fewer updates, but longer ones. Don't know how I feel about it since it's sort of dialogue heavy and again I never feel comfortable with that, but whatever it's something and it moves things forward so hope you enjoy and if you have time to let me know what you think it is always appreciated and as a writer it's very encouraging to find out that the things you don't think you're good at conveying in your work are actually understood and appreciated. Also it's nice to hear where you can improve as it helps you perfect your craft(even if you're only using it to write fanfic). So a huge thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment even if it's just a happy face they really do kind of make my day :)

Don't own Glee, any Glee characters, or any of the Famous people mentioned in this chapter Hope you enjoy...

Chapter 13

Puck watched Rachel sitting on the couch as Beth put on a performance for her and smiled at the amusement and tenderness that he saw on her face as she watched the little girl. He had called Rachel earlier that day as a last resort, but now that he was watching the two of them he should have thought of her first. He just hoped that Rachel would still come around when Quinn was done fucking up the best thing that ever happened to her. His face darkened a little at that as he grabbed a beer and went back into the living room and threw himself on the couch next to Rachel.

"Daddy, sit up straight, we have company." Beth scolded as her dance came to an end. Puck laughed, but straightened up as Beth continued to glare at her. "And you forgot to ask Rachel if she would like anything to drink."

Puck rolled his eyes, but looked over at Rachel, "Drink, Berry?"

"Thank you, I'm fine. I should be going anyway. It was very nice spending the day with you, Beth. Keep working on third position and it will be perfect in no time." Puck thought it was cute that Rachel ruffled Beth's hair.

"You could stay for dinner, Rachel." Puck offered and Beth's face lit up.

"Yeah, stay for dinner. Mom will want to see you. You know to make sure I behaved myself."

Rachel shrugged, she really didn't have anything else to do. A moment later Quinn walked in the door. "Speak of the devil." Puck grinned at her and laughed a moment later when Quinn looked at Rachel and asked if Beth had behaved herself for the day.

"She was an angel." Rachel grinned, throwing Beth a wink as Quinn turned and hung up her coat. Beth giggled and dashed over to hug her mother and then followed Puck into the kitchen telling him that they had to make something special for Rachel since she didn't eat meat. Quinn threw down her gear and sat on the couch next to Rachel. "Now she'll probably want to go vegan." Quinn sighed and smiled at Rachel.

Rachel laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that. She didn't seem to care about the hamburgers, She was a bit shaky at the bacon, but I completely lost her at no French toast." Quinn laughed and threw her feet up onto Rachel's lap. It was something that they had been doing lately. Finding little ways to touch each other. Rachel had initiated it. Sometimes she would take Quinn's hand for a few seconds while they walked, or lean against her when they were sharing the same sitting space. Quinn had been unable to help herself from following her example.

Rachel smiled and laid her hands gently over Quinn's legs as the blonde grabbed the remote and began flipping through channels. Rachel knew she was in trouble, but a big part of her didn't care. She knew that if this went on too much longer it would end badly for herself and Quinn, but she couldn't stop herself from reveling in these moments where Quinn would lose herself, if only for a moment.

Quinn watched as Rachel got immersed in the show that Quinn had flicked on and did her best to ignore the way her stomach was tightening as Rachel's fingers tingled over her legs and cursed inwardly when she stopped abruptly a moment later. "Hey turn it up, it's Shane." Quinn only let her face darken for a split second at Rachel's excitement before she turned up the TV.

Quinn listened to Shane talk about filming and being away from New York and only just barely kept herself from mocking him, as Rachel sat up in excitement causing her and Quinn's legs to lose contact completely. "And what would you say you miss the most about the East Coast?" The interviewer asked.

Shane laughed, "Uh, I don't know, there's so much to miss about it, ya know. Only a true New Yorker would really understand, but, uh, I'd probably have to say the thing I miss the most, would be spending my day off at my favorite spots in the city, with my favorite person."

"And who would that be?" The woman said suggestively.

Shane deflected her with a laugh, "They know who they are." Quinn made a gagging motion when he winked toward the camera and Rachel swatted her playfully as she pulled out her phone. Quinn rolled her eyes and turned the volume down so Rachel could talk to her friend.

"Oh my God! I just saw your interview, you were amazing. And just so we're clear I am your favorite person right?" Quinn raised her eyebrow at Rachel's tone, daring Shane to contradict her. "I can't believe how jealous I am of you right now. Tell me everything." Quinn glared at Rachel and the brunette stuck out her tongue. "Quinn sends her love." Rachel giggled at his reply and pulled the phone away from her mouth to speak. "He says don't be jealous, you can be his favorite person in his next interview." Quinn couldn't help herself from smiling affectionately at Rachel's excitement and got up to join Puck in the kitchen, leaving Rachel to finish talking with her friend…

* * *

Quinn wasn't even thinking about Rachel when Lacey brought her up. "So I googled Rachel this afternoon, seems she's pretty popular around the city. You guys are from the same town." Quinn nodded, she didn't share much of her past with Lacey, or anyone for that matter. That was another reason that it was so easy to be around Rachel and Puck. "Is she dating the tall, dark, and handsome co star?" Quinn sighed knowing that Lacey's interest was fake.

"I like her." Quinn hadn't mean for it to slip out, but Sara had not been able to contain her excitement over meeting Rachel the other day which meant that Lacey had been unable to escape Rachel all week. This had made it impossible for Lacey to tame her anger over the other brunette and this was the third time in a week that she had tried to push Quinn into talking about her. Quinn was actually tired of her fake interest and snide comments. Lacey froze when Quinn actually admitted it and set down her glass as she glared at her girlfriend from across the table. "And I am attracted to her."

She said the second part slower and quieter, but with no less conviction than the first. Lacey contemplated the blonde across from her, who had still not let her eyes fall away in shame and decided to be honest with her. "I know, and yet you're still sitting across from me. Are you going to break up with me? Is that why we're here."

Quinn regarded Lacey thoughtfully and spoke again. "Maybe we should." She said quietly. Breaking up with Lacey had not actually been on her mind at all that night, but she had felt herself get overly irritated with the way that Lacey talked about Rachel and she knew that Lacey was slowly becoming nothing more than an excuse to not be with Rachel.

Lacey took a deep breath and met Quinn's eyes. "I'm not going to break up with you, Quinn. We've been together a long time and I want you in my life. And before you do anything rash to get rid of me, I want you to think about what it means for you and Beth to start a relationship with her. She lives in an entirely different world than we do, strangers take pictures of her walking to the store. I know you like her and I know that I'm biased, but how long do you think it will be until she follows her friend to real stardom?" Quinn's mind flashed to Rachel's phone conversation with Shane earlier that week. "Have you slept with her yet?" Lacey asked remembering the easy way that Quinn had touched Rachel both times she had witnessed them interact.

"Rachel is not like that and neither am I." Quinn said fiercely. The fact that she had defended Rachel first was not lost on Lacey, but there was no way that she was going to give Quinn up without a fight. "We're friends."

"But you could be more any time you say the word, am I right." Quinn had the grace to look uncomfortable now and Lacey took that as her answer. "So why haven't you? You obviously want her. Break up with me, Quinn. Break up with me and go get her, but you're going to have to do it because I am not going to give up on you."

Quinn swallowed. It was the closest that Lacey had ever come to a declaration of love and she had to admit that spending a year with someone tended to make your heart swell at that sort of thing. "I'm not breaking up with you, it wasn't even on my mind until you brought it up. But Rachel is someone that I care about. Someone who will always be a friend no matter what happens and I would like for you to respect that and her. The same way that she respects you. I don't want to argue about Rachel, I don't want to have to choose right now."

"It's selfish and naïve to think that we can all just get along. You have to know that. Eventually we'll have to fight about her." Lacey decided to let Quinn have her way, she had known her long enough to realize that Quinn was very close to shutting down and leaving her in the restaurant. The blonde refused to argue and the few times that Lacey had actually brought her to the point where she could just see anger Quinn had refused to talk to her for days at a time. Right now this action would only serve to send Quinn flying into Miss Broadway's arms and Lacey wasn't that stupid or hotheaded.

"Well, not right now. We're in a restaurant and she's not even in the City for the next two weeks. So for the next two weeks can we please pretend that I never saw Rachel in that stupid bar?"

"Fine. How was your day?" Lacey said curtly not wanting to push Quinn anymore that night…

* * *

Rachel strode through the airport, tired and anxious to get home. It had been a great two weeks with Shane and she had returned home with a new agent, a new job, and a few interesting prospects on the horizon. All in all it had been a very eventful and beneficial visit, but all Rachel wanted to do was get home, shower, call Quinn and fall into bed. She had to get some rest because there were a million things that she had to do the next day.

Rachel stopped to grab a coffee and smiled at the cashier when her eyes kept flickering from the magazine on the counter to her face, trying to decide if it was her that was standing in the top corner holding hands with Shane Sanders. Rachel paid for her coffee, smiled again and lowered her sunglasses as she left the airport to climb into a cab.

Rachel sighed as she let her head fall back and enjoyed her ride home. She had loved California, but she had missed New York. Yeah it was dirtier and rougher, and the people were less friendly, but she loved it all the same. When Rachel got up to her apartment she started pulling off clothes on her way to the shower and when she was sitting on her couch with a glass of wine a few minutes later the first thing she thought about was Quinn Fabray.

Rachel hadn't really talked to her since she had left. Quinn had called a few times and Rachel had been so busy the entire time that she had been away there were times when she just couldn't answer. On those occasions she had sent short text messages and even the few conversations they had were short lived because Shane and his friends and family had been pulling her in a thousand different directions. That was another reason that she was glad to be home, she had missed the blonde and her family. Rachel punched in Quinn's speed dial and waited, anxious to hear Quinn's voice.

Rachel Berry was going to die when she got home that weekend. Quinn had decided this about an hour ago when her baby had come into the living room and handed her Rachel's copy of Funny Girl. This was the seventh time that they had watched it during the time that Rachel had left and even though she was thoroughly sick of it she had given into Beth's request because she had a feeling it was only because her daughter missed Rachel.

Beth had fallen asleep a few minutes before and Quinn sat absently enjoying the feel of her daughters hair under her hand as she gave the girl a few minutes before she carried her into her bed. Beth rarely snuggled with her anymore and Quinn marveled at how much she had grown. She had just tucked Beth in and turned on her night light when she heard her phone going off in the next room. Her heart skipped when she saw Rachel's name on her caller ID and she tried not to seem too eager as she picked up the phone and said hello. A moment later Rachel's perfect voice answered her back and she sunk down on the couch unable to stop the goofy grin from settling on her features. "Hey, do you actually have time to talk?" Quinn asked playfully.

She could hear Rachel smile through the phone. "Yes actually I came back a little bit early and decided to call you before I get my required rest for the evening."

"Well Beth and I missed you, do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?"

"Well, I do have a lot to tell you, but I have so much to do tomorrow, and while I would love to have dinner with you guys I don't think it would be fair to make a six year old wait on the chance that my errands are not completed by the time you sit down for dinner, but maybe as an alternative I could bring by some dessert."

Quinn laughed, "Sounds good, Rach. We can't wait to see you."

"I too am anxious to see the three of you. And before I forget, as part of my list of things to accomplish tomorrow, may I please have Sara's phone number and address?" Quinn gave Rachel the information and echoed her goodnight.

* * *

Rachel smiled as Sara sat across from her, trying not to fidget. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe I'm sitting across from Rachel Berry. I'll do my best to not be weird."

Rachel couldn't help giggling at Sara. She was charming in a goofy way and Rachel liked that, but the fact that she was a friend of Lacey's kept her cautious. "Feel free to be as weird as you like. It's quite flattering." Sara laughed, Quinn had warned her that Rachel was different. "So the reason that I asked you to lunch today was to give you this." Rachel handed over the package that contained backstage passes and front row seats for Rachel's last performance. She beamed when the girl tried to suppress a squeal of joy. "I am sad to announce that I will be leaving a little earlier than planned, and I apologize for the short notice."

"Are you kidding, this is great." Sara carefully looked through the envelope in awe. In addition to the tickets, there was dinner and limo reservations, a copy of the play bill signed by the entire cast (including Shane), and an invitation to an after party in honor of Rachel. "You didn't have to do this, Rachel."

"I'm Rachel Berry, and I very rarely do things halfway. I gave you a ticket to bring a date, Quinn will be there along with Lacey, at least I'm assuming that she will be with Lacey, so I'm sure you'll be comfortable."

Sara noticed the way Rachel's voice stiffened at the mention of Lacey's name and smiled. "You're that Rachel aren't you?" Rachel just lifted her eyebrow at the redhead across from her. "I wondered when I met you, after I got over the whole star struck thing. You like Quinn huh?" Sara shrugged when Rachel didn't answer. "I can't blame you. Quinn's really awesome in a complicated sort of way. I've hung out with her a few times without Lace, Quinn's a little less guarded when she's not around."

"Aren't you friends with Lacey?" Rachel managed to get out cautiously as she took a sip of water.

"Of course." Sara smiled. "I've known her forever, but I've never thought her and Quinn were exactly right for each other. Don't worry, she knows I think this." Sara said off of Rachel's look. "Some people want, more importantly _need_, someone else to take of them. They _like_ to depend on others. Lacey needs one of those people, and as hard as she tries, for whatever reason, Quinn's not that person. Which isn't to say that they couldn't stay together forever since Lacey knows what a catch Quinn is, and from what I can tell Quinn believes this is as good as it gets for someone like her."

Lacey shrugged absentmindedly, and while Rachel admired her blunt honesty she wasn't entirely comfortable with the subject. "I'm sure you're friend is wonderful, Sara, but Quinn deserves someone to want _her, _not a trophy wife." She answered just as bluntly, if a little stiffly.

Sara laughed, she was even more in love with Rachel Berry than she had been before. "I know. Which is why I'm secretly rooting for you." Sara winked and Rachel finally cracked a smile. "Thank you so much for all of this, I can't tell you what it means to me, but I better get going. There's a theater in the Village that's playing _My Fair Lady_ tonight and I don't want to be late." Rachel scoffed and couldn't help smiling when Sara read her mind. "I know Audrey Hepburn doesn't sing her own numbers, but you have to admit she's still kind of amazing. Besides I don't think it would have turned out right if they had cast Julie Andrews. She was always too…chirpy. Don't know if she could have pulled it off."

"It just seems that if you are going to be cast in a movie with singing and dancing, one should posses the skill set that comes along with such a responsibility. While Audrey Hepburn does possess the grace, beauty, and charm of old Hollywood, I cannot tell you how devastating it was for me to learn at a very tender and impressionable age that she used a voice double. That sort of thing can do lasting damage to a person as dedicated as myself."

Sara laughed at her, "Not everyone can be a triple threat, Rachel. I'm auditioning for it next week and I like to do a little research, I'd ask you if you wanted to join me, but I have a feeling you'd be a talker and I'll need to concentrate." Rachel had the grace to laugh at herself, knowing it was true. "But maybe we could hang out next week or something, they'll be playing Hello, Dolly." Sara laughed again when Rachel's face lit up. "I should have known, a Streisand freak." Rachel laughed and gave Sara her phone number…

Later that evening found Rachel sitting on Quinn's couch gushing about her visit with Shane. Beth and Puck were in the living room boxing on Puck's game system and Quinn and Rachel had retired to Quinn's bedroom since Rachel seemed to be bursting with excitement over some news that she had for Quinn. "So I met some amazing people in LA, Quinn. One of them being none other than the guy who does the Law and Order series. He has something to do with Shane's movie. He wanted me to do a spot on his LA show, but I told him I live in New York so he set me up with one here in the city. Which means, I'll be breaking into television, Quinn. Can you believe it?"

Quinn smiled down at the diva as she spoke excitedly. As they were talking Rachel had made herself comfortable by sprawling herself across Quinn's bed and resting her head on the girls thigh. Quinn had not even noticed when she had started doing it, but her fingers were twirling Rachel's hair comfortably as she listened to the girl talk. "You're on your way, Rach." She said affectionately as the brunette paused.

"I'll be playing a famous singer who gets attacked by her boyfriend. It's so exciting to be doing something new. And also I have a read through for a movie role when Shane comes to town in a few weeks. It's nothing huge, just an independent film that will be shot here in New York, but I heard that Idina Menzel is somehow connected with it and you know how I feel about her." Rachel met Quinn's eye. "You do know how I feel about her right?" She asked seriously.

Quinn laughed, even though she had been preoccupied trying not to let the things that Lacey had said to her at dinner two weeks ago deter her from being happy for everything that was happening for Rachel. Rachel sat up suddenly and straddled Quinn's legs, completely overlooking their intimate position as she kept her serious gaze fixed on Quinn. "Working with her, or near her, or even having my name in the same credits with her would mean…well I don't exactly think there are words capable of describing what it would mean to me. Grammys, Tonys, and Oscars would mean nothing to me next to her." And as the sentence died on her lips, Rachel became very aware of the way she was sitting on Quinn.

Quinn had become aware of Rachel as soon as she had thrown her legs over Quinn's and swallowed hard as she watched Rachel realize what she had done. Rachel locked her gaze on Hazel eyes as she fought to keep her promise to Quinn. She wouldn't be the one to initiate anything romantic between them, it would have to be up to the blonde, but that didn't mean that Rachel was going to completely give up moments like these. They stayed that way for a long moment and Quinn could barely contain her groan when she finally lost the battle with herself and leaned forward to capture Rachel's lips.

Quinn was tentative at first, too busy panicking about what she was doing, but as soon as Rachel's mouth opened and the singer's tongue darted out to smooth over her bottom lip, Quinn lost it. She followed Rachel's tongue back into her mouth with her own as her hands made their way to the smaller girls thighs to pull her deeper into the kiss. Rachel tasted delicious and Quinn's head felt light with desire as she sucked at Rachel's bottom lip.

Rachel moaned into the kiss as Quinn pulled her closer and longing swept through her pooling in the pit of her stomach as Quinn's mouth left hers and traveled down the side of her neck. Rachel couldn't stop her head from falling back and her hands gripped the side of Quinn's shirt as the blondes fingers laced into her hair and pulled her back to capture her lips again. Rachel had been trying hard not to scare Quinn away, but when she sucked lightly on Rachel's tongue the singer's hip bucked forward of their own volition and Quinn growled as she felt Rachel's heat against her.

Rachel was breathless when Quinn flipped them over without losing contact with her mouth, her body clenching in anticipation as she felt warm fingers begin to creep under her shirt. "I see the party's already started in here." Quinn shot off the bed and Rachel forced herself to swallow the groan of protest at the loss of Quinn's body against her. Both of them tried to control their breathing as they looked guiltily up at Santana Lopez standing with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face…


	14. Chapter 14

So, I was thinking about it and I am pretty sure that when I started this I didn't think that it would end up going on this long, but once I started writing I didn't want to rush it. Now I'm thinking I might not be rushing it enough? Hmmm…let me know about that. In other news I am sorry for the delay. I actually didn't even notice that it had been so long until I saw the update date for the last chapter, oops!

So a few things about this chapter: 1. It's really loooong and I'm not sure that anything really happens. 2. I was pretty nervous about writing Santana (let me know if I should keep her around for a while longer) and 3. I really hate Lacey, I should hit her with a bus soon.

Thanks everyone for all the love in the reviews and comments. It's really awesome and addicting and it makes me smiley all day long. Not to mention that my excitement over them is easily channeled into motivation to write more, so keep 'em coming :)

And just a little note to pseudohuman: I'm super happy you caught that, the kiss was meant to be uncomfortable. It was the lesser of two evils. The kiss was actually supposed to go all the way, but I was not sure at that point that Quinn was ready to leave Lacey (especially since she's so good at manipulating Quinn) and that would have killed Rachel. It's sort of like when Joss Whedon had Angel kill Jenny Calender with his Vampire face on so that when everything was done he was still (only just) on the right side of redemption. You can have characters do crappy things, but I didn't want everyone to hate Quinn, and she's pretty unlikeable right now so I just decided to bring in Santana. Anyway blah blah blah, just wanted to comment on that because I love your reviews and sometimes it's like you can read my mind ;)

Don't own Glee or Glee characters…

Chapter 14

"Hope I'm not interrupting." Santana kept the smirk on her face as she moved her gaze between Rachel and Quinn. She noticed the disappointment on Rachel's face as the small girl got off the bed. "You're lipstick is a little smeared there, Berry."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she straightened her hair and her shirt. "A pleasure as always, Santana." She said calmly.

"Q?"

"You didn't interrupt anything." Quinn said firmly and Santana lifted her eye at her friend wondering who she was trying to convince. Rachel sighed and though Santana wanted to laugh she could practically feel waves of awkwardness pouring off of both women. "What the hell are you doing here? Where did you even come from?" Quinn glared at her friend.

"Well that was a great welcome coming from my best friend." Santana rolled her eyes. "I told you when you were in Lima that I had a job thing here. Puck told me you guys were in here. I'm staying for about two weeks and you better show me a good time. Starting tonight. Let's go bitches."

"A phone call would have been nice." Quinn mumbled as she made her way toward the bathroom. Rachel was at Quinn's dresser using the mirror to fix the smudges around her mouth and when she turned around Santana was smirking at her with a look that bordered on impressed.

"That's kinda hot, Berry."

Rachel crossed her arms and breezed past Santana to join Puck and Beth in the living room, refusing to let herself feel embarrassed by what had just happened. Whatever it was, she and Quinn could talk about it later in private.

Quinn was proud that she didn't start panicking until she reached the bathroom. She leaned over the sink and splashed cold water over her face until her body calmed down. "Shit, shit, shit!" She whispered to herself as she looked in the mirror. The longer she stared the more panicked she became. "Fuck." She swore again. Thankfully though Santana saved her from going hysterical when she yelled from the living room for Quinn to get her fat ass out of the bathroom.

Quinn smiled as she entered the living room when she heard Rachel giving her a lecture about what words she should and should not use around a child. Beth had run into her room and gotten her swear jar and held it out at Santana who looked at it blankly. "Pay the woman, Santana." Rachel said.

"If I do will you shut it?" Rachel nodded and Beth grinned at the dollar that Santana dropped into the jar. "Keep that thing handy, Little Q, I have a feeling you're gonna make a fortune this week. Especially if I have to keep listening to her highness." Santana stabbed her thumb at Rachel and everyone laughed, including Beth when Rachel stuck her tongue out at the other girl. Santana pulled another dollar out of her pocket and deposited it into the jar before she smiled sweetly at Rachel and gave her the finger.

Rachel didn't leave for another couple hours and when she finally said her goodbyes, only hesitating for a second before hugging Quinn, Santana dragged her friend into the kitchen while Puck put Beth to bed. "So now that the midget is finally gone, spill." Santana dismissed Quinn's glare with a shake of her head and a hand wave. "Whatever, she's short. SPILL."

"There's nothing to spill." Quinn said as she put water on for a cup of tea. "We're friends." She said firmly.

"So…what, like, you had a chicken bone lodged in your throat and instead of using the normal people method she decided to go after it with her tongue?" Santana grinned when Quinn's cheeks went a little red.

"I have a…girlfriend."

"So?"

"So, I don't want to hurt Rachel."

"Well you better talk to her soon because the Rachel Berry I know and find really irritating is home right now planning your wedding."

Quinn rolled her eyes and brought her cup back to the table and sat down across from Santana. "I don't want to talk about it yet."

"Fine, but before we drop the subject completely, if you're not gonna tap that, will you be totally pissed if I do? Cuz I need to get laid while I'm here and Rachel being a midget might work out well for me."

"You're gross. You know that?"

"You love me anyway. Now answer the question Fabray."

Quinn heaved an exasperated sigh. "Yes. Okay? I will be pissed if you sleep with Rachel."

Santana smirked. "Knew it. You love her." Santana watched Quinn hide her face in her cup, not losing her smirk when she spoke again. "Fine. I promise not to, but get ready to be jealous because I am totally gonna hit on her the entire time I'm here. She's hot and since I can't make her squirm where and how I want to I'll just have to settle for this alternative."

"You're such a bitch." Quinn said letting the bite of her irritation come through her words.

"Don't I know it." Santana said as she stole a sip from Quinn's cup. "Really, Q? Tea? What are you like eighty?"

* * *

Rachel sighed in poorly concealed relief and smiled when Sara walked up to their table and sat next to her. "Sup, Chic? I didn't know you were going to be here." Sara pulled her jacket off and handed it to the guy sitting next to her. "This is my boyfriend, Chase." The dark haired guy took Rachel's hand. "We met the day you dropped off Quinn's daughter. She hasn't shut up about you since, just so you know."

Sara rolled her eyes, slapped her boyfriend lightly on the arm, and turned to face Rachel. She was completely silent while she looked the diva up and down and then shook her head. "Sorry. It'll probably be this way for the first few times we hang out. You know, in my head I'll be screaming 'Oh my God, you're hanging out with Rachel Berry!' During those first few minutes I'll stare at you in awe, but don't worry I am pretty adaptable and I should be able to speak within a few seconds of the onset of my mental impediment."

Rachel grinned, overwhelmingly happy for the company. Santana had practically dragged her to the bar with Quinn in tow and had failed to mention that Lacey would also be there. She and Quinn had still not had a conversation about what happened the other day at her house and Rachel felt guilty every time she tried to meet Lacey's eyes and it had been making her very uncomfortable. "So how'd your audition go?"

Rachel asked as she took a sip from her water bottle.

"I don't know. Haven't heard back yet, but it felt like it went good. And It was fun so," Sara shrugged her shoulders. "Hey are we still on for Barbara on Wednesday?"

Rachel's face lit up, "Absolutely I can't wait. I could never even get Shane to enjoy a Barbara movie with me, will you be joining us, Chase?"

"Not if I can help it. In fact I will pay you to be her friend every Tuesday just so I don't have to watch another movie musical."

"They're doing a whole series and I've been dragging him to every single one. He likes them, right babe you liked My Fair Lady."

"I do, honey. You're absolutely right." He smiled at his girlfriend and then turned to Rachel, "But just so we're clear, Rachel, you're my new favorite person."

Both women laughed at Chase and Sara leaned in to whisper in Rachel's ear. "So this has the potential to become awkward huh?" Rachel laughed and agreed nervously, once again glad to have someone at the table to focus her attention on….

Santana watched Rachel trying not to look up at Quinn dancing with Lacey and failing miserably. She had overheard Quinn on the phone talking with Lacey, well more like trying to get her off the phone, and had invited herself and Rachel to join them. So far it hadn't been too bad. When it had just been the four of them it had been a little bit awkward, but Rachel had smiled when some of Lacey's friends showed up and a redhead sat next to her.

But right now the red head was dancing with her boyfriend and Quinn was dancing with Lacey and Rachel was sitting alone at the table. Santana frowned and walked over to the table and sat close to Rachel. "Wanna make out?" Rachel's eyes snapped away from Quinn and Santana laughed. "Calm down, short stack I was just kidding, unless you were going to say yes and then I was totally serious." Rachel rolled her eyes. "It'll make her jealous." Santana's eyes gleamed with mischief as she tried to convince Rachel.

"That will accomplish nothing, Santana. I've learned not to try to force her hand." Rachel met the dark eyes in front of her and smiled. "Thank you for your concern though."

"Who says I was concerned?" Santana grumbled into her drink. Rachel looked at her pointedly and Santana rolled her eyes. Of course the diva was right, Santana was concerned. Even though she had still given Rachel a hard time in high school she had developed a soft spot for the tiny girl ever since she had spoken the words 'I believe you' back when they were fifteen. But there was no way that she would admit it to her now. "Whatever, I just think there's something wrong here."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Santana questioningly and Santana sighed, the midget was going to make her say it. "You're fuckin' hot, Rach and you're sitting here all depressed and shit because of someone who obviously doesn't appreciate you."

Rachel looked down at her hands and spoke quietly. "Again, I thank you for the concern, but I know that Quinn will make the right choice soon. I left everything up to her. She made the first move the other day in her bedroom and I think that she's very nearly ready-"

"That's bullshit, Berry." Santana cut her off. "The thing is Quinn is no different than any other girl or any other guy. People only want what they can't have. Or in your case what they know their about to lose. I mean look at you. You're proving it right now. I just watched like three guys come up to you and ask you to dance. You turned them all down."

"So, I didn't want to dance-"

"Do I need to speak slower? Quinn knows that you're not going anywhere. She knows how you feel and she knows that you'll be waiting at this table forever. Q's my best friend and I love her, but it's not fair and your Rachel Berry, you're a fuckin' superstar. At least have some fun while you're being all pathetic." Santana knew she was coming off harsh with Rachel, but she wasn't trying to be and for whatever reason she hoped the girl knew that.

Rachel sat for a moment and then nodded defiantly, "You're right I am Rachel Berry. Would you like to dance Santana?" She asked with determination.

Santana laughed when Rachel's eyes flashed and the look in the diva's eyes reminded her of the crazy girl from glee club. "I guess that depends on whether or not we can make out." Santana crossed her arms and smirked suggestively, Rachel glared at her. "Fine, but if we're not going to make out, you have to let me touch your ass. Well I need to get something out of this dance, Berry, and like I said it will drive Quinn crazy." She added off of Rachel's look.

"Fine. Let's go." Rachel let Santana lead her out onto the floor next to Sara and Chase. She was surprised to find that dancing with Santana was a little bit more pleasant than she thought it would be. Sara grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up when the two brunettes danced through three songs. She liked the contrast of Santana's soft curves pressed up against her and her strong arms wrapped around her waist holding her tight.

They kept dancing and Rachel slowly felt herself letting go and having fun for the first time all night and she actually threw her head back and laughed when Santana's hands wandered below her waist and pulled

Rachel impossibly closer to her. A moment later and Rachel's laugh turned to a gasp as she felt the Latina's mouth on her neck. Her head snapped back up and Rachel met her eyes. Santana leaned down to whisper in her ear and Rachel laughed and blushed as she let her head fall onto Santana's shoulder.

The next thing Rachel knew the two of them had stopped dancing and Santana had her pushed up against a wall. Both women were breathing hard from the dancing and then the taller girl was practically attacking her. Rachel could only moan and let Santana deepen the kiss as her mind had not yet caught up with the feelings running through her body…

Quinn knew that Rachel had come to her apartment that night to talk, but she still wasn't ready. She knew she was being unfair, but she decided to go out with Lacey that night to try and figure out her feelings. She had to mentally restrain herself from slapping her best friend when she had taken it upon herself to invite herself and Rachel to go out with her. Now she was out on the dance floor fuming.

She had caught Santana and Rachel talking at their table out of the corner of her eye and tried her best to hide the fact that she wanted to know what they were talking about. She knew from experience that Santana loved to stir up shit and even though Quinn was her best friend that didn't make her exempt from Santana's fun.

She had watched Santana grab Rachel's hand and had watched them dance, trying not to be jealous. Rachel deserved to have fun too, the rational part of Quinn knew that, but her possessive side was furious at Santana for having her hands all over Rachel. She finally broke and got up from the table when she saw Santana back Rachel against a wall and kiss her. "Whoa there, tiger. Accompany me to the bathroom will ya?" Quinn was surprised to see Sara tugging her arm toward the bathroom. When they arrived at the bathroom Sara just shrugged and they didn't say much, but after a few minutes Quinn found herself calm enough to walk back to the table.

Rachel and Chase were giggling about something and even though Quinn had every intention of just sitting back down next to Lacey, she rounded the table, leaned down and asked Rachel for a dance. Rachel looked up at Quinn dumbfounded for a moment before smiling and taking her hand. Santana grinned and winked at Rachel and bumped fists with Chase who she totally would have brought back to her hotel for the night if she didn't find his girlfriend so exhaustingly sweet. She idly wondered if she could get them both back to her hotel room. She grinned devilishly at the thought and then shook it from her head, she could tell they were both too committed for that. Instead she wished that she had not made that ridiculous promise to Quinn about staying out of Rachel's skirt. She had been pleasantly surprised at Rachel's enthusiasm at her surprise attack on the singers mouth and cursed Quinn for being one of the few people that she actually cared about. Santana shrugged and went back to chatting with Sara and Chase.

The three of them were so busy enjoying each other's company that Santana didn't notice that Quinn and Rachel had not returned to the table until she felt Sara's hand on her arm as Lacey got up angrily from the table. Santana and Sara got up to follow leaving Chase with his beer shaking his head and muttering the word 'women', affectionately as he watched his girlfriend.

Quinn and Rachel were both trying not to make a big deal about the fact that they were pressed up against each other, and both were trying not to make the dances that they were sharing any more complicated than a dance. So, they had not spoken since they had started moving to the music and Rachel decided that she was having fun either way so none of it really mattered right now anyway.

They were both startled when Quinn was jerked roughly away from the smaller girl and they both turned to see Lacey staring at them angrily. "I think it's time for us to go, Quinn." She said not letting go of the blonde's arm.

"Are you insane?" Quinn asked as she yanked her arm away from her girlfriend.

"Maybe, but forgive me if I don't want to watch my girlfriend practically making out with another woman. Like I said it's time for us to go."

"Maybe she doesn't want to go. I'm pretty sure that out of the two of you Quinn is in control of her own actions. And we weren't making out. We were simply sharing a friendly dance, perhaps you shouldn't be so possessive."

"You think I don't know who you are? Or what you want? I see the way you look at Quinn, and I know you'd be on her in a second if she'd have you, you're desperation is really unflattering so why don't you back the fuck off."

Rachel looked to Quinn her eyes flashing, waiting for Quinn to defend her honor. When nothing came Rachel shook her head and looked back to Lacey. "You're right, maybe you should take your girlfriend home." Rachel turned toward Santana. "Wanna get out of here?" Santana shrugged and nodded.

"Hey, Rach wait." Quinn touched Rachel's arm her eyes pleading with the diva. Rachel just shook her head and turned back toward Santana and Sara.

"Let her go, Quinn." Lacey said forcefully, grabbing the blonde firmly again.

Rachel turned around when she heard the warning in Santana's voice, "You're gonna wanna take your hands off of my friend."

"Mind your own business and take your slut home." Quinn was shocked when it came out of Lacey's mouth and she ripped her arm away from the other woman and whirled around. Lacey had never seen Quinn angry and right now her hazel eyes were flashing with wrath. "You really don't want to talk about her like that."

"Quinn, I'm sorry I lost my temper can we just please get out of here?" Quinn's fists clenched at her sides and she glared at Lacey trying to breath back her temper before she did something that she knew that she would regret.

"Quinn." Rachel spoke gently into the blonde's ear and Quinn felt her body relax as fast as she had felt it flare with anger. She swallowed and Rachel took her hand away. "Thank you." She said sincerely when Quinn turned around to meet her eyes. "I'm leaving with San and Sara, you should stay and work this out or whatever."

"Rach, wait." Quinn hesitated. "Are you gong home with her?"

"Quinn." Rachel's voice had a warning of it's own as she shook her head in annoyance at the blonde.

"Quinn, she's right, let's go." Lacey tried to pull her away again and Santana stepped angrily toward her again. "I thought I told you to keep your hands to yourself."

Quinn felt her temper flare again. "Santana would you please back off. This isn't your business, none of this would be happening if you would have kept your promise." Quinn hissed at her best friend.

Santana let out a huff and looked at Quinn unbelievingly. "First of all someone manhandling my best friend is absolutely my business. Second of all none of this would have happened if you weren't such an asshole. And for the record, I had no intention of breaking that promise."

"What are you talking about? What promise?" Rachel crossed her arms over her chest glaring at Quinn, praying that she wrong about what was forming in her head. Rachel looked back and forth between the two friends. Santana shrugged and Quinn was unable to meet her eyes. "What promise?" Rachel asked fiercely, moving so that she was standing directly in front of Quinn.

"Rachel it was nothing. Come on, let me take you home." Santana put her hand on the singers shoulder and tried to get her attention, but Rachel's flashing brown eyes were set stubbornly on Quinn, "I am not leaving until I get an answer Quinn." She said in quiet anger.

"I promised I'd keep my hands off of you Berry, now lets go." Santana finally spoke, realizing that Rachel was more stubborn than all of them put together and she was going to stand there until someone answered her. After that everything happened in a blur.

Lacey got pissed that Quinn should be worried at all about who Rachel slept with and moved forward to grab Rachel's arm and shove her away from her girlfriend. Rachel stumbled back hissed at Quinn not to touch her when she tried to keep Rachel from losing her balance, and Santana lunged at Lacey as soon as she steadied the tiny diva.

Santana almost had her hands on the brunette when she felt strong arms circle her waist and pull her back. "Let me go!" Santana shouted against Chase who was half carrying, half dragging the girl toward the door. Lacey gave her the finger, and Santana fought harder to free herself flinging Spanish curses at her and Chase.

Sara, who had been standing with her arm around a crying Rachel, fixed a glare at her friend. "Are you serious right now?" She asked irritably. "Come on, Rach. Let's get our stuff and meet your friend outside." They walked back to the table, leaving Quinn and Lacey on the dance floor and by the time they made it outside Rachel's tears were gone and she was staring blankly at her three friends.

Santana was still angry, "What the fuck does Quinn see in that bitch." she had muttered to herself and Sara was apologizing for her friend. "I am so sorry." She said over and over again. Sara knew how Lacey could be, but she had never witnessed her be this aggressive in all the years that she had known her. Chase stood awkwardly waiting for his girlfriend to say goodnight to Rachel, then they both watched as Santana led her away from the bar…


	15. Chapter 15

Sooo...the day after I uploaded the last chapter to my other story I got into a bad car accident and today is the first day that I've really been able to make it to the computer to work on anything. That being said I don't really like writing when I'm feeling down because it has a tendency to leak into the writing and make me unhappy with everything I come up with and I was going to put the story on hiatus til I was feeling better, but I felt bad so It took me all morning and afternoon to come up with this and I decided to let you guys decide if I'm too depressed to write. Let me know what you think and thank you for all the love at the end of the last chapter, I only wrote this because you guys are so gracious and patient and it doesn't feel right making everyone wait. Let me know what I should do :) If I don't get any comments I will assume that I suck and will stop all my stories until I feel better and am able to get back on track...If you want me to continue let me know and bear with me as I'm a little out of sorts lately...

Just some notes: 1. I plucked Hot Chelle Rae out of the present and dropped them in the future, I love them and just realized that the lead guitarist is Chord Overstreet's brother :) I don't own them or their songs and since I'm fairly certain that Rachel is a fictional character anything that happens in the story would also be fictional. The video that Rach appears in is Queen of the Scene for anyone who's curious. Also I'm certain I made them more famous than they actually are, 2. Due to popular demand Santana stays until I run out of witty and biting comments for her to make :) 3. In my time of emotional need I miss my favorite little brother who is unreachable at the moment so I channeled that into Rachel missing Shane (since that's who his personalityis based on) so I brought him back :) 4. I couldn't work the bus idea into the plot right now, but Lacey's not gone forever just yet so maybe next time lol...

Oh and I don't use the ellipsis on purpose it's a bad writing habit, kind of like when I use the comma and think it's okay to have a paragraph sized sentence, it usually means a trail off in my own thoughts or speech...Don't own Glee, Glee characters, any famous people I might mention, or the 'number one heb' line, I just think it's funny :D Hope you enjoy the chapter and tonights episode ;)

Chapter 15

Quinn watched Rachel leave and turned angrily back to Lacey. "Let's go." was all she said and her look cut off whatever the other woman was about to say as she followed Quinn in the direction of her friends. Everyone was gone by the time they picked up their jackets and made it outside of the bar. The cab ride back to Lacey's apartment was filled with silence and the few times that Lacey tried to apologize Quinn cut her off by gritting her teeth and holding up her hand. This was a conversation that called for privacy and Quinn needed to get a handle on her anger before she spoke.

When they reached Lacey's apartment Quinn paid the driver and followed Lacey up the stairs, still fuming and unable to stop the anger that was humming through her body. "Quinn. I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry."

Lacey had never seen Quinn so pissed off before and whatever she expected from the blonde it wasn't what happened next. "I can't believe you did that. Those are my friends. You had absolutely no fuckin' right to speak to them like that. Of all the disrespectful shit you've pulled on me that was the worst…" Quinn had never raised her voice or spoken to her this way before and Lacey felt her own face flare with her temper as Quinn continued to yell at her. "And seriously are you a child? Antagonizing Santana the way you did."

"She had no right to be in our business. And Rachel was all over you! Did you really expect me to just sit there and watch that? I know how she feels about you and I know how you feel about her!"

"Then why the hell are you still with me?" Quinn yelled.

"Because I care about you, Quinn and when she's gone, when she leaves you to go be famous, I'll still be here!"

Quinn swallowed and felt her anger drain a little. "I kissed her." Quinn admitted, both women were surprised by Quinn's confession and Lacey's face went red, she could deal with Quinn's feelings for Rachel and the closeness that they obviously had. And she might be mad about the flirting, but she could handle that too because she knew Quinn wasn't going anywhere or she would already be gone. All she had to do was hang on until Rachel got tired of waiting, but hearing about the kiss made something inside her snap.

"Fuck." She swore as she got up to leave the room. She walked back in a moment later when she had better control over herself and sat down across from Quinn. "Fine we're even. You kissed her and I called her a slut, let's forget about her and work this out."

Red returned to Quinn's face at the mention of Lacey's slip from earlier and Quinn glared at her hard as she spoke. "Maybe there's nothing to work out."

"Don't do this, Quinn." Lacey commanded harshly. "I have put up with a ton of shit from you and I think I deserve some leeway here."

"Do you think I don't put up with shit from you as well, Lace. Because you're hardly innocent."

"I am not the one who cheated Quinn, let's not forget that. We've been together for over a year and I have proved over and over again how committed I am to you and how much I want this relationship to work. I've let you be as distant as you want because I know that for whatever reason you're gun shy about relationships and commitment. I've given you all the room that you've asked for in this relationship and now I'm asking you for something, does the last year and a half mean nothing to you?"

"I need some time to think." Quinn stood from her spot on the couch and turned toward the door when Lacey grabbed her arm and spun her around forcefully. "Don't walk away from me!"

Quinn stiffened and her hazel eyes flared and burned Lacey's hand until she loosened her grip. "That is the last time tonight you will put your hand on me or you'll be very sorry." Quinn said through her teeth as her body started to shake out of control.

"Sorry." Lacey said softly. "But do you honestly think you'll be better off with her? Better yet, do you think that she's even tough enough to deal with you?" Lacey took her hand away from Quinn's arm and met her flashing eyes as she continued. "Because I am, Quinn. I can handle you shoving me away and keeping things from me and tonight we've proved that I can handle your temper. Do you really think Rachel is strong enough for all that? Better yet does she deserve it?" The anger fizzled out of Quinn as she dropped back to the couch. Lacey sat down next to Quinn gently. "I mean I don't know Rachel incredibly well, but she just seems like the type of person who expects, and needs things to be…epic. You and I both know that love can't be perfect and I can deal with that."

"I'm leaving. I really need time to think, please let me have that." Quinn pleaded, she had not been so emotionally exhausted since high school and it had everything to do with Rachel Berry. "I'm not ending anything right now, I just need to sort a few things out and I know that I ask you for a lot, but please, let me go."

Lacey swallowed and scowled. "Fine, think about it, but you're still going to have to say the words, Quinn. I'm not breaking up with you. If you want this over, you'll have to do it. Until then I'll be waiting to work this out."

* * *

Santana and Rachel walked in silence toward Rachel's loft and Santana didn't press the smaller girl for any conversation , knowing that when Rachel was ready she would let everything out. "It's not the first time it's happened you know." Santana waited for Rachel to continue. "When Finn came to town she did the same thing." Rachel paused and her eyes flashed in a moment of anger. "I was going to go through with it anyway just for spite." Santana smiled at the thought of Rachel doing anything out of spite, "But Finn really is a gentleman around me and he knew something wasn't right. We ended up walking around and when we got back to my place I still couldn't go through with it. Do you think that's Pathetic?"

"I think it means you care, Berry. Whatever Q's issues, she cares a lot about you too. She's my best friend so I'm gonna give you some advice. Actually two tiny snippets of advice, just cuz I'm an awesome friend. Number one, and this is the most important. If she can't see what a fuckin' catch you are, then she doesn't deserve you and you should stop letting her take advantage of your feelings. Second, let her come after you for once, I promise you it'll be worth it."

"But what if she doesn't. What if she freaks out and decides I'm not worth it."

"Then you can swoop right back in and beat it into her for all I care, but you're not doing yourself any good just sitting around waiting for her to wake up and smell the hottie."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smiled at her new friend. "Did you just quote Buffy the Vampire Slayer at me?"

Santana shrugged, "There's never a wrong time for a Joss Whedon quote."

Rachel laughed, "You sound like my father. He's a Joss Whedon freak."

Santana nodded solemnly, "A wise man." Rachel giggled and Santana couldn't help the smile that settled at the corner of her mouth. "Can I still talk to her?" She rolled her eyes at Rachel. "No Rach, you can't, that defeats the whole purpose of this plan."

"I didn't know this was a plan, I thought it was advice. Advice which I may choose to ignore." Rachel paused and Santana rolled her eyes again. "What about Beth? I already love her so much, and I don't want her to think that I've abandoned her."

Santana smiled softly at Rachel's affection for Quinn's daughter. "Puck and I will make sure that you see little Q. I haven't told Quinn yet, but my internship got extended for the rest of the summer so you guys are stuck with me until I start law school. Which also means that whenever you're starting to cave you call me instead of Quinn got it?"

Rachel sighed. "Fine. But remember at the very least Quinn is a friend. I don't want her getting hurt in any of this, so no more trying to make her jealous. No implying that you and I are anything more than friends. I'll do my best to be indifferent, but the point of this is to make her realize that we're perfect for each other, not to get her so angry that she never wants to see my face again. Also no using Beth. For anything. Period."

Santana shrugged. "It's sort of scary how well you seem to know me." She grumbled. "Fine." They finished the walk to Rachel's loft and Santana followed her in.

"Good evening Miss Berry."

Rachel smiled winningly at her doorman as she walked into the building. "Good evening, Trevor."

"This the girl?" He asked.

Santana and Rachel both tried not to be offended at the look of denial that appeared on the other's face. "No this is just a friend, Trev. Actually this is the girl's best friend. Santana this is Trevor, Trevor, Santana."

"Nice to meet you, Miss." Trevor smiled and the two women headed toward the elevator.

"Your door guy is pretty hot, Berry." Santana said as she looked back and eyed him.

"You stay away from him Santana Lopez. He is engaged to a very nice girl."

Santana chuckled as she followed Rachel to the elevator. "Relax, midget your doorman is safe."

* * *

Quinn swung open the door still in her pajamas, hoping to find Rachel. Instead Santana stood in front of her holding out a cup at her, "Let's go, Blondie." Quinn sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with her friend whenever she used that tone of voice and took the cup and went to change.

When they were outside sitting at a park bench Santana pulled out a cigarette. "I thought you quit?" Quinn commented.

"I did, I only smoke under stress." Santana blew the smoke away from Quinn and looked at her seriously. "We need to talk and I have a feeling you're gonna piss me off. Consider this a preemptive strike against inevitable irritation."

Quinn stared at her with wide eyes. "You sounded like Rachel just then." She said with a small smile.

"See you're starting already." Santana scowled and blew smoke at her.

Quinn sighed. "Just stay out of it, San. Rachel and I are going to stay friends. You're only in town for a couple of weeks, so don't stir up any shit okay?"

Santana took a deep breath already irritated. "Actually I'm here for the summer. I was going to tell you last night, but…anyway, I'm not trying to stir anything up. Did it ever occur to you that Rachel might be able to make you happy?"

"Maybe Lacey makes me happy."

Santana scowled. "I doubt that. Well, does she?" Santana asked off of Quinn's look. "And before you lie to me, Fabray. Remember I know what kind of diapers you wore. Can you really see yourself with her forever?"

Quinn swallowed the lie on her tongue, knowing that while Santana sometimes accepted her bullshit, this was not going to be one of those times. Right now her best friend wanted honesty, even if it hurt. "If you had asked me six months ago I would have said yes."

"And now?"

Quinn shrugged. "Now it would be easier. Lacey would take care of me and Beth. She might be more happy to _have us than in love with us, but she'll make sure we have everything we'd ever need."_

"And how long until you turn into your mother, Quinn. How long before you realized that it's better to be loved than taken care of."

Quinn shrugged helplessly. "Maybe it's better to turn into my mother than my father."

"Maybe it's better to believe that you can have the best and worst of both of them and Someone will still love you because you're you." Santana was rarely gentle with anyone, but she had a feeling that Quinn needed someone to understand her right now and she could always bully her later.

"You know if I had never seen her singing that night I might have been with Lacey forever. Everything was so easy before Rachel. She has a tendency to complicate things."

"Ah, that's right. Complicated. Lay it on me."

"What?"

"At my party I asked you if you and Rachel were a thing and you told me no, it's complicated. So speak of the complication."

"I'll do better, I'll show you." Santana shrugged and followed the blonde to a news stand. She waited patiently as Quinn surveyed the selection of magazines and moved closer as she started to leaf through it. "Hey, Lady!" They both looked up at the man in charge of the booth. "You read, you buy." He said and Quinn rolled her eyes and looked at Santana.

"You're the one that dragged me out of the house so damn early, pay the man."

"Whatever. This had better be good, Q." By the time Santana had paid for the magazine Quinn had found the page that she was looking for and held it out to her. Santana stared blankly down at a few photos of Shane and Rachel from when she had visited him in LA.

"You can't be with Rachel because of this guy?" Santana said slowly, looking down at the words blankly as she skimmed the article about the Hollywood newcomer Shane Sanders. "Are they dating cuz I don't see anything about that and if they are I have a-"

"Not him exactly." Quinn said impatiently as they sat back down. "Just everything that he represents. Everything that Rachel wants to be a part of." Quinn paused as Santana finished reading the article and looked up at her questioningly still not understanding Quinn's reasoning.

"I don't want to hold her back from her dreams when they're about to come true." Quinn paused and looked at her friend seriously. "And I know that she would never do it on purpose, but I don't want Beth and I to get hurt in the process. We both know what a force Rachel can be, and we both know how long she's been fantasizing about this." Quinn spoke quietly admitting all of her insecurities out loud. "I don't want to be a casualty when Rachel Berry storms the streets of Hollywood."

Santana laughed gently and put her arm around her friend. "Well until you figure out that Rachel's the real deal don't you think that you should give her a break."

Quinn looked over at her friend with her customary eye quirk. "You like her." Quinn stated, her eyebrow settling into a smirk.

Santana rolled her eyes and pulled out a cigarette. She hated it when Quinn got sappy. "Yeah well Stubbles grows on you after a while." She said begrudgingly.

Quinn laughed at the sincere look of disgust on Santana's face at the thought of liking Rachel Berry, "I missed you." She said as she sat next to her best friend, rolling her eyes when Santana's answer was to once again blow smoke her way…

* * *

Shane sat across from Rachel and watched as the make up team for Rachel's video shoot applied finishing touches to her face and hair. He had been back in town for a few weeks to read for a movie with Rachel and meet her new friends. Quinn had been noticeably absent from the performance, but he had liked Sara and her boyfriend. He had also really hit it off with Santana, finding her brashness amusing and knowing that she was good for Rachel.

"Holy shit. You look hot." (Side Note: picture the leather dress LM wore to the New Moon premiere in LA) Shane grinned as Rachel posed and couldn't help loving the way she smiled at him like he was the only thing in the world she cared about. It had been so long since he had seen it that he went over and hugged her before being scolded and shooed by Rachel's primping team. Rachel laughed and Shane smiled again. Today was the first time since he had been back that he had gotten her all to himself. He was really happy that Rachel had been making new friends, and subsequently not mentioning Quinn Fabray, but honestly he found himself a little jealous and was selfishly excited to finally be alone with her. "I missed you, Rae." He said as she turned to head out to the set, turning to throw him a smile.

Shane watched the video shoot and kept Rachel occupied during breaks trying to convince her that she should take a trip with him to celebrate his film wrapping. "Come on, Rae. We'll have fun." He smiled at her. "We can visit Ally for a few days at school and then spend the rest of the week on a beach somewhere spending my paycheck."

Rachel smiled gently. "You know I can't right now. And not for the reason you think." Shane tried to keep his face straight, but honestly he was genuinely curious about the absence of the recently never mentioned blonde. Rachel's face softened. "I have a lot of things going on right now, working and I can't take off." Rachel watched Shane nod in understanding and chose not to acknowledge the obvious curiosity in his eyes.

Rachel had stuck to Santana's advice ever since that night in the club. She was actually surprised at how easy it was, mostly thanks to her new agent that had her working all over the place, and doing what seemed like a thousand appearances around the city. And whenever she had down time she had spent it with Sara or Santana just hanging out or bumming around because she was so tired. She was actually looking forward to spending the day with Shane. Her shoot would be finishing at lunch time and she was eager to find out everything that had been going on with him. He had been back for a while, but they had rarely had a moment alone to just bum around the city and be themselves, and for once Rachel couldn't wait to get out of work.

Rachel finally mentioned Quinn after they had eaten at Shane's favorite restaurant where they used to be regulars. From lunch they had done some shopping and now found themselves each with a cup of coffee sitting on the ground at Grand Central. "Over there." Shane nodded discreetly and Rachel followed his gaze.

She studied the man for a moment and then spoke. "Waiting for his girlfriend so they can ride home together. They have a movie to catch at 7:30 and he wants to change out of that fake suit and grab a bite to eat before it starts." Rachel squinted and smiled as she continued. "They're going to be late that's why he looks so irritated. He'll have to watch the whole movie while he's hungry and he won't be able to concentrate."

Shane laughed affectionately. "What movie?" She had been so busy lately that he wondered if she could even guess the name of a current movie.

"I am unable to discern that until his girlfriend arrives." Rachel and Shane sipped their coffee and stole glances at the guy as he checked between his watch and one of the entrances.

"He should have just met her at work. Maybe she's standing him up." Shane grumbled after ten minutes.

"He usually does, but today he thought this would be a more timely alternative. I bet he even instructed her to leave ten minutes early. She wouldn't stand him up without calling." Rachel paused. " I'm giving her time to decide what she really wants out of me." She said suddenly. So much had been happening to her since Shane had left and she had been feeling so far removed from him, given to the fact that he had spent the last few months on the other side of the country, When he had come back he had felt like a stranger to her, but sitting here with him, playing their game, Shane was still her best friend.

It took him a minute to change gears and realize that she was now talking about Quinn and not the yet to appear girlfriend of the stranger in front of them. "How long has it been?"

"A while." Rachel said dully, trying to keep her emotion out of the conversation. They were quiet again and Rachel dropped her gaze from the stranger to her coffee cup. "She started trying to get a hold of me earlier this week, but Beth likes having her birthday party over the summer so they can camp out on the roof and she wants me to come. Was it silly to think that Quinn actually missed me?" It was the first time in weeks that she had spoken or thought about Quinn Fabray and was surprised that the ache of the blondes name was a little bit duller than it usually was.

"You're doing the right thing Rachel. I'm proud of you." Shane flung his arm around her shoulders and squeezed as she leaned closer to him.

"Just tell me I'm not waiting for nothing." Shane was grateful that she wasn't crying, but he was sort of scared of the numbness that settled over her.

"You're not." He said firmly, Quinn had to realize how amazing Rachel was, even though he hated her guts sometimes even he admitted that they did seem strangely perfect for each other. "And neither is our friend." Rachel looked up and watched as a woman breezed onto the concourse and the irritation on the strangers face faded as soon as the woman smiled at him. They embraced quickly and turned, "I don't know what's playing there tonight, but I'm thinking Bryant Park." Rachel smiled when the guy reached down to link their hands as they headed off to catch whatever train they needed to take them home. "I missed you." She said a moment later as she laid her head on his shoulder.

* * *

"Mom!" Quinn headed from her daughters bedroom into the living room to see what Beth wanted and opened her mouth to yell at Puck for not turning the channel when she caught sight of the MTV logo in the corner of the screen.

"Puck! You forgot to turn the channel!" She yelled. "Turn on cartoons, baby. I don't want you watching this stuff."

"But mom it's Rachel!" Beth said excitedly as she pointed the remote at the TV to show her. Quinn sat on the couch and watched with Wide eyes as the video was filmed around the brunette looking nothing like Quinn had ever seen. The song sounded slightly familiar and Rachel was mesmerizing on the screen dressed up like a rock star, screaming in pain and fighting with one of the band members. Quinn covered Beth's eyes and steered her out of the room when Rachel leaned down toward a fake line of coke.

By the time she made it back to the living room the video was ending on a shot of Rachel standing at the sink looking sadly at her face in the mirror. A moment later the band appeared and started talking about their new video. "It was actually a lot of fun. It was sorta the first time that we had to be, like actors, and not just a band, so it was interesting and Rachel made it a blast."

"That's the girl? She was in your last video as well? A girlfriend perhaps?"

"Yeah, she uh, she's great. And I think Nash here has a little crush on her, so we let him be 'the guy'." The singer gestured toward his lead guitarist. The rest of the guys in the band laughed and teased and then answered questions about how they met her. "I met her through an old friend, you may have heard of him, Shane Sanders." He waited for the yelling to die down and then continued. "Anyway his girlfriend is a big fan I guess and he brought her to a concert while we were in New York and we met back stage and sort of fell in love with her. I mean how could you not, did you see her in the leather? Love ya, Rach." He added at the camera. "Anyway she's great and I think that we have her for one more video off this record, so you'll be seeing her again soon."

Quinn watched as they continued to talk about the video and tried to digest the fact that the singer had called Rachel Shane's girlfriend. She couldn't stop the jealousy that coursed through her or her anger as she pictured all of the evidence to support a relationship between Rachel and Shane even though she knew they were just friends. They were always together (when they were on the same coast), they held hands constantly, they touched each other easily. Quinn's scowl deepened with every thought and that's how Puck found her a moment later when he finally returned to the living room. "Sorry, I promise I'll remember next time."

Quinn's scowl relaxed into confusion as he sat down next to her. "About the MTV thing. I thought she was in her room getting ready for the big sleepover."

"Oh it's fine. Rachel's in the new Hot Chelle Rae video. And was apparently in the last one. Do you think she's ever slept with Shane?" Quinn tried to keep her voice casually curious, but Puck heard the rage under her tone and raised his brow.

"I think if she has it's her business. Not ours. But I mean if you wanna ask her that's between you and Jesus. And of course Rachel."

"You don't even believe in Jesus." Quinn was still irritated over the fact that she had just noticed that it was entirely plausible that Rachel had slept with Shane at some point and it was the only thing that she could respond to.

"Sure I do, he's my number one Heb." Quinn couldn't help laughing at him a little. "I would ask her, but she's not speaking to me. I tried to call, but she's not answering any of them or my text messages. I had to let Beth leave a message." Quinn sniffled. "Then I see this video and get completely Jealous at everyone who touches her, including Shane and that guy she did Law and Order with last week. Is this how it'll be if we get together? Her off being adored by everyone and me sitting here being jealous and wondering why she's with me."

"It's just work for her, Quinn." Puck said gently trying to comfort her.

"I know that." Quinn said sadly. "But what if Lacey is right. That's what Rachel's world is all about. She's young and sexy, talented and driven. Now's the time for her to be famous. I'm no one. I have nothing to offer her."

Puck sighed and moved away from Quinn as he took a deep breath and started a conversation that the two of them had been avoiding for six years. "You know Quinn, I never got around to apologizing for…you know. You brought it up during our last fight so…The only reason is that I don't want you to think I regret anything that has happened since." Puck paused to try to gather his thoughts. "When I was sixteen I walked into that room and I knew that I was gonna have you." Puck swallowed and had the grace to look ashamed. "It's fucked, but people like me and Lacey and Santana, we're really good at exploiting and manipulating."

"Puck, you're not that guy anymore. And I forgave you a long time ago. I wouldn't be here if not for you."

Puck looked down at his hands and contemplated their past and how to get his point across. "You know the only girl who wouldn't fall for my shit was Rachel." He smiled affectionately at the week they had spent dating or more accurately the week he had spent trying to ruin her virgin status. "She was always so self confident and aware. But I sang that song for her because she was the only person that didn't look at me like she expected me to fail. She's smart and she sees things in people that they don't always remember about themselves. She sees you Quinn, just like I did and just like Lacey can. She knows that you're awesome and worth the wait, you know all the good stuff. She also knows that you're not always as confident as you like people to think you are. The only difference is that she's not the kind of person that'll use that to her advantage. I did, and Lacey does it now."

Quinn swallowed. "You think Lacey would do that?"

"I've seen her do that. I just always figured that you deserved to not be lonely. You never got really serious with her cuz you never introduced her to Beth, but I always figured that when you met someone better you would leave that bitch in the dust. But you have found someone better and you're not, and I can't help thinking it's partly my fault for taking advantage of you. So I just wanted to remind you that you're beautiful, and you have everything to offer, you're an amazing mother to our daughter and I couldn't ask for a better best friend."

Quinn couldn't help her tears at Puck's words and couldn't speak around the lump of appreciation settling in her throat so Puck continued speaking. "You were right when you said that I wasn't that guy anymore so I want you to stop being that girl. Because don't kid yourself, Quinn, Lacey whispering in your ear that Rachel is too good for you or that she's gonna leave you is no different than the kid who fed you wine coolers and told you that you weren't fat."

"Thank you." Quinn leaned over to hug him.

"Yeah, yeah." Puck made a show of wiping Quinn's invisible tears off of his shoulder and Quinn laughed affectionately. "How did I get the world's two most emotionally stunted best friends?"

"Yeah you should talk. The three of us could start a fuckin' club." Puck shot back good naturedly. "Now go, you have a party to get ready for and I have some grilling to prepare for. I even traded my man card to buy some of that meatless burger shit for Rachel so let's party."

Quinn hesitated. "You think she'll show?"

"She loves Beth." Puck shrugged as if it was the most simple thing in the world. "Plus I played COD with Shane last night. They'll be here." Quinn turned and tried to focus on her annoyance at Shane instead of her nervousness at seeing Rachel for the first time since they fought.


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you from the heart for all the concern for my health and comments on the story at the end of the last chapter it was deeply appreciated. I'm healing up nicely and looking for another car...

This chapter took a while to post because it is ridiculously looooong so hope you enjoy it. I got an idea while i was already halfway through the chapter and couldn't find a good break to split it. Expect updates to be slow for a few weeks as I am working on a Christmas fic that I am trying to finish and post by Christmas :) I tried not to leave it in an awkward spot just in case I don't get to it for a while, but I'll do my best to work on this too and of course I promise to finish if everyone sticks with me ;)

Chapter 16

Rachel stood next to Shane and took a deep breath, he placed his hand gently on Rachel's back and she was eternally grateful that she had him back even if it was only temporary. Santana had shown up at her door the day before and she had to wonder what she had done to poor Trevor in order to get up there without a phone call. "Trevor's not incapacitated is he?" She had asked suspiciously when she opened the door to find Santana staring back at her.

"I just made him realize it was in his best interest to let me up here." Rachel looked uncertain. "Jeez Berry I didn't murder your bodyguard ok? I can be charming when I need to be." Rachel's uncertainty turned to absolute disbelief. "Whatever, he remembered me from the other night, are you going to let me in?"

Rachel pulled the door open and smiled. "Of course, I'm soo glad you stopped by." Santana rolled her eyes at Rachel's attempt at sarcasm and pushed past her as she tightened the door behind her.

"I stopped by because I know you're going to Beth's party tomorrow and we need to discuss the plan."

"Don't you mean the advice?" Rachel said pointedly.

"No." Santana deadpanned. "I mean the PLAN." Rachel marveled at how many times she could roll her eyes in Santana's presence and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going to be rude to her Santana." She said defiantly. "I know you're ADVICE is to not talk to her, but if I'm in her house I will have to muster up some manners and have a conversation with the woman."

"Have you forgiven her?" Santana asked seriously.

"Not entirely, but Beth left me a message not her, and I refuse to be a source of disappointment for Beth." Rachel said fiercely. "Shane will be there with me, so I should be fine."

"Fine, but if I catch you making moon eyes at her I will find a way to make you sorry." Santana had promised before she had thrown herself on Rachel's couch, apparently inviting herself to stay.

After a minute of staring at the door Rachel had still not knocked and Shane hugged her. "You'll be fine. Just stick to the plan." He said with a hint of a smile.

"ADVICE. It is only advice, which again I may choose to ignore." Rachel protested and stopped short when she noticed the amused way that Shane was watching her. "Santana Lopez, welcome to my life, it's such a great pleasure to have you." She mumbled when she realized that Shane was trying to distract her. "You're picking up too many bad habits from her."

"But she's right, Rae, it works so well." He laughed and knocked before she started to get nervous again. Puck opened the door and slapped Shane's hand in greeting. Quinn's jaw tightened as she noticed the position of the hand that wasn't grabbing Puck's. "Sup, Man?"

"Hello, Noah." Rachel said softly avoiding Quinn's eyes and trying to smile at Puck. He leaned down and hugged her. "Are you shorter than normal?" He asked. Rachel looked down at her shoes and Puck followed her and nodded knowingly at the converse sneakers that she was wearing as opposed to her usual, which was anything with a heel.

Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear and took a hopefully unnoticed breath before meeting hazel eyes. Rachel swallowed, "Hello," She tried to keep her tone polite and short, but she had to tuck her bottom lip under her teeth because she felt it start to quiver when Quinn gave her a small smile. "Hi. I'm glad you came, Rachel." She replied back. Rachel nodded, not really knowing what to say to her. "Where's Beth?"

"She's on the roof with my mother and Puck's mother. And a few of her friends from school and dance class." Quinn tried to keep her eyes on Rachel's face and not on her hand that had taken the hand that Shane had placed on her back and intertwined her fingers with it.

"Do you mind if I go up and see her?" Rachel needed to get away before she cried. She didn't know what she had expected, but Quinn smiling at her and acting like nothing had happened was not it.

Quinn nodded, "Right through there." She pointed to a door and frowned as Shane followed closely behind her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Rachel giggled a second later and Quinn's frown turned into daggers as she watched them disappear to the roof.

Rachel approached Beth and held out her gift to the girl, grinning when Beth's face lit up and the girl threw her arms around Rachel's waist. "Rachel! Mom said you might have to work and you might not be able to come."

"Are you kidding? I would never miss a party you were throwing." Rachel smiled at her as she took her hand and dragged her over to the table to sit next to her. Rachel hid her amusement as Beth went around the table in a very important voice and introduced her to her three friends and both of her Grandmothers. Rachel smiled politely at the Grandmothers and motioned for Shane to sit next to her. "Nice to meet everyone. This is my friend Shane."

Rachel tried not to notice that Quinn had sat down next to her mother. It took all of her self control to focus her energy on the little girl sitting beside her, but somehow she managed and after a while found herself having fun with the kids. Beth made her teach them some intricate dance steps after they had eaten and made her friends participate in a production that had Rachel stifling affectionate laughter when Puck glared at her. "This is all your fault, Berry." He said before he began mumbling under his breath about Glee Club.

When it was time for cake Rachel volunteered to go down to the kitchen and gather plates and utensils, and was very proud of herself that she had managed to stick to Santana's advice and fool herself into thinking that Quinn Fabray didn't matter. She actually smiled and took a moment to revel in her success when it was interrupted by the girl that she had been actively avoiding for the entire day.

"I thought you might need a hand." Quinn said cautiously. Rachel swallowed as Quinn came into the kitchen and started helping her gather everything to take back to the roof. "Beth has a dance recital that she wanted me to invite you to, I thought maybe we could go together…" Rachel froze as Quinn spoke listening as her words faded away and all she heard was the sound of the blondes voice pretending that nothing had changed between them. "I'm really happy that you came, Rach. I'm grateful that we have another chance at being friends."

Rachel's heart tightened and froze as the word 'friends' ran hatefully through her veins, but she didn't acknowledge the blonde until she felt a light touch on her shoulder indicating that Quinn was right behind her. "Don't touch me." She said without turning. The words were said quietly and without malice. Rachel's intent was not to hurt, Quinn. Rachel swallowed tears, squared her jaw and finally turned to face the blonde. "It's worse when you pretend that nothing happened. You might be built to repress every single emotion and feeling that you've ever had, Quinn Fabray, but I'm not. Better yet, I won't let myself live that way. So tell me now, what do you want, Quinn?"

Quinn swallowed as she watched the heat in Rachel's eyes and all she wanted was to rush into Rachel's arms and kiss her senseless, but she was rooted to her spot as she whispered "I don't know."

"Well until the answer to that question is my name, Lacey, or something more definitive than that I think it's best that the two of us focus on moving past each other." Rachel's voice was determined and Quinn spoke again trying desperately to hold onto something that she had no right to. "What about Beth. She loves you so much, You're not going to see her anymore?"

For the first time since she turned Quinn saw a crack in Rachel's defenses at the mention of her daughters name. A flash of pain contorted her features and then her tone was steady again. "The only reason I am here today is because of Beth. It kills me to look at you right now, Quinn. Part of me wants to hate you enough to hurt you and part of me aches because I can't touch you the way I want to. That's how much I love your little girl. If and when she wants to see me or talk to me I would appreciate it if those calls came through Noah from now on."

"I just need a little bit more time to figure things out, you, Lacey, everything." Quinn was confused and emotionally overwhelmed and she clung to the only familiar way that she knew to deal with that.

"That's perfectly fair, Quinn, but be fair to me as well. You can't hold my hand and look at me the way you look at me and be with her. You can't kiss me how you kissed me and still be with her, and you can't try to control my happiness while you're pretending to be happy with her. I have no trouble observing the boundaries of our relationship, but it is obvious that you don't know where the line is, a line that _you_ drew. I can't keep letting you dictate how we move forward. You can't keep changing the rules on me."

"Rachel, please. Don't do this, I missed you. I miss you now." Quinn struggled around her words and a faint smile ghosted over Rachel's mouth, but didn't reach her eyes.

"And that's the first honest thing you've said to me since I arrived. Build on that Quinn. Take your time, make the right choice for yourself because you're the one who has to live with it, but this time I can't promise I'll be waiting around when you've figured it all out. I don't want to let myself become someone I can't recognize. When you do wise up and figure out that we're perfect for each other I want to be able to love you. I have to walk away before you break my heart." Rachel let a tear slip as she realized what she was doing and wondered when she had become strong enough to do it.

"And if I decide I can't be with you?" Quinn swallowed and asked the question because she knew herself and she knew that it was entirely possible that she wouldn't be able to allow herself the happiness that the brunette was offering.

"Then I'll know, and I hope that there will be a day when I can once again call you a friend." Rachel said sadly.

"So that's it then? You just pretend that I don't exist anymore? Completely ignore me?" Rachel braced herself against the desperateness in Quinn's voice and took comfort in the bitter humor that accompanied her next statement. "Yeah, that's the plan." Rachel handed Quinn a box of plastic forks to carry to the roof indicating that the discussion was closed. Quinn swallowed her own tears and followed behind her, both women forcing themselves to smile as they reached the roof…

* * *

Rachel laughed at her cast mate as she dug through her purse to find her phone.

'**Hey chic its santanas last night in the city lets show her a good time :)'**

Rachel smiled at Sara's text message and excused herself from the group as she walked toward the trailer she shared with The only other girl on the set. When she was sitting she replied back to Sara.

'**Sounds like fun. Tell me where and when I should be. No surprises right?'**

She added the last part as an afterthought and waited nervously for the reply.

'**None ;) somewhere we can eat first, then we're tumbleweeds blowin in the wind lol I watched titanic last night. Invite shane meet me and san at my place 5 00 dont b late'**

Rachel smiled and threw her phone back into her bag as she started pulling off her clothes to visit the elliptical machine she had them put in the corner of her trailer. She shoved her headphones in her ears and felt her legs start to move. Rachel had kept busy over the last month and a half. Extremely busy. But it was moments like these that usually brought on the pain.

To her general relief it had been dulling over the weeks and she didn't find it as unbearable to be alone as she had in the first few days that she had put Santana's advice into a plan. For those first few days she had felt like she would suffocate and Shane and Sara had taken turns 'dropping by' to check on her. It had been Santana who had snapped her out of it though when she had once again charmed her way up to Rachel's apartment and broke in when Rachel ignored her from the other side of the door.

She had spent the next week bullying Rachel out of her misery, making her have fun even if Rachel didn't recognize that she was actually having fun. She still could barely believe that she was actually friends with her despite the way the other girl had treated her in high school or her affinity for calling Rachel a midget. She would miss the ex-cheerleader when she left the next day.

As she ran harder her thoughts started falling toward the one subject that she could avoid during the day by pretending it didn't exist. She ached and loved thinking about Quinn. Loved remembering what her hand had felt like wrapped around her own, ached that it would never be there again. Loved the way her name sounded on Quinn's perfect lips, ached to be able to press her own lips against Quinn's soft ones. Loved thinking of the way Quinn's body had felt pressed against her own and she ached to be there again.

It was a twisted and private game she played with herself. Longing and trying to condition herself against it. Addicted to the pleasure and pain that Quinn's name caused through her body whenever she allowed herself to think it. This was the real way that she was getting over Quinn. Her friends were appreciated, but they along with the grueling work schedule she had set up for herself, were only distractions. At first it had worried Rachel, her addiction to the moments when everything but the blonde was forced away, but even through her pain she knew that in order to get over it she had to feel it. She knew it was necessary even if it was twisted…

* * *

Quinn had fallen back into her routine before Rachel Berry. It was easy enough for her to do. She had always thrived on repressing her pain and burying it in something else. She focused on school and Beth and started seeing Lacey again on Puck's weekends with Beth. It was only in the silence, laying in bed at night, in the studios or darkrooms at school that she allowed herself to miss Rachel. Only in these moments that she allowed herself to actually give thought to her situation.

Lacey had been forgiving and ready to move forward, but Quinn had told her that she had not made any decisions about where their relationship might lead. She had also warned her that she would no longer tolerate any comments about Rachel. Quinn had made it very clear that the subject was off limits, and they both went back to pretending that the other made them happy. Quinn knew it was unhealthy, but it was the only thing she had to hold onto.

Tonight they were meeting some of her friends for a night out and Quinn would have bailed and stayed home with Beth and Puck if she could stand anymore of him looking at her alternately with pity and disgust. Quinn had come directly from work and was joining up with Lacey's party already in progress. Lacey approached her in front of the club that they were meeting at and it was by complete accident that after they had settled and were all holding drinks they looked toward a happy commotion at the bar and came face to face with Rachel Berry, party of seven. Quinn's mind couldn't decide what to do at the sight of Rachel for the first time since Beth's birthday, and she sunk deeper in her chair trying to hide, while simultaneously drawing in an involuntary breath at the fact that she looked even more beautiful than before. She tried not to give away that she had seen them and worked out in her head trying to get Lacey to leave. "Lacey let's go, let's get out of here." She leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"We just got here, Quinn. We're on the other side of the club. They won't even know we're here. And if they do I promise not to talk." Lacey rolled her eyes at Quinn, she had spotted Puck and Rachel and the rest of Quinn's friends as soon as they entered, and tipped back her beer.

Quinn rolled her own eyes and tried to hide herself further behind the table. It wasn't for another twenty minutes that she ran into Puck on her way back to the bathroom. "Where's Beth?" She demanded.

His face hardened at the sight of her as he answered. "Gracie called and wanted her to spend the night. She'll be back tomorrow in time for lunch. So I decided to hang with Santana tonight." He smirked. "She leaves tomorrow so you know." Quinn smiled and rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go say hi." He nodded toward Rachel.

"She wants to pretend I don't exist remember?" Quinn felt familiar jealousy as a beautiful girl with reddish blonde hair walked up behind Rachel and embraced her. "Who the hell is that?" She asked before she could stop herself.

Puck laughed at the jealousy and shrugged. "Some friend of Rachel and Sara's. I guess Berry's been helping Sara with a production for school. She's kinda hot for a hippie theater major. She makes Rach smile."

Quinn sighed. "Well if Beth needs to come home you can call me. I think I'm gonna get outta here."

Puck grinned at her. "Alright, Baby Mama. I love you." He had a little too much to drink and when he hugged her he leaned in and kissed her before he let her go. She giggled and smiled, Puck was affectionate and fun when he was drunk. A moment later an angry voice sounded behind them. "Who the hel-" Lacey's voice cut off when she saw that it was Puck hanging on to Quinn.

Puck raised his eyebrow, rolled his eyes and spoke with a mischievous tone, "Later, Q." he kissed her cheek for good measure and because he had already had a little too much to drink slapped her on the ass as he told her he would see her at home.

Quinn saw the flash in Lacey's eyes and flinched as she shoved Puck away from her. "Why don't you keep your hands to yourself, Puckerman."

"The fuck?" Puck yelled, because as fun and sweet as Puck was when he drank he also had a smaller amount of control over the part of himself that sometimes even scared Quinn.

Lacey and Puck started yelling back and forth calling each other some fun names and Quinn cringed as they were joined by the rest of their friends. Quinn hated the look of betrayal that was in Rachel's eyes as she looked back and forth between the blonde and her sort of girlfriend. She looked away in shame and tried to run interference before they attracted the attention of the bouncers. "Lacey, come on." She laid her hand gently on the woman's arm and tried to coax her away, but Lacey was as drunk and angry as Puck who was being held back by Chase and Shane. Lacey threw Quinn's arm off and Quinn tried more urgently, tugging on her arm a little. And then everyone including Lacey froze because in her anger and haste to get Quinn's hand off of her arm she had elbowed the blonde in the face and Quinn was holding her nose as blood rushed into her hand and down her chin to the front of her shirt.

Santana was the first to react, rushing over to her friend and pulling off the hoodie that Puck had let her wear earlier in the night to catch Quinn's blood. Puck was the first to speak through clenched teeth, "I wish you were a dude so I could pound the shit out of you right now." His fists were balled at his sides and he was shaking with anger.

"It was an accident." Lacey protested. "And this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you putting your grubby hands all over _my_ girl."

"Like I said your lucky I'm a guy." Puck shot back as Santana inspected Quinn.

No one had seen Rachel come up next to Puck or her small fingers clenched at her sides, but as soon as Puck finished speaking she spoke as well, "I'm not." Was all anyone heard her say fiercely to Lacey before she pulled back her own fist and punched Lacey directly in the jaw. And for the first time in her life Rachel Berry lost her temper and found herself in a fight.

Puck's jaw dropped as he actually heard Rachel's fist connecting with the other girl's face and he was equal parts stunned and amused as Lacey stood in shock holding the side of her face. In fact he was so stunned that he didn't have time to step between the two women before Lacey called Rachel a bitch and lunged after her.

When he finally reacted the bouncers were running over and they were rolling around on the floor. Puck pulled on Rachel and managed to separate most of her from Lacey, minus the hand that had a fistful of her hair. She only let go when Shane grabbed Lacey around the waist and shoved her as gently as he could toward her group of friends.

The fight broke up as quickly as it started and the entire group of them were escorted toward the door. Lacey's friends dragged her toward a cab and at Sara's request Chase gave Rachel his jacket as Shane pulled his own hood over his head and ducked it down, letting Rachel duck her hooded head into his chest as Puck got them a cab.

Rachel felt Anna on her other side and suddenly looked up as she felt Quinn's gaze on her. Santana was standing next to her and she was still holding the ruined hoodie against her face. Quinn stared at Rachel wanting desperately to go to the girl and check on her, but Santana's grip was firm on her arm and she wasn't exactly in any shape to have a conversation considering she was still bleeding. Rachel shook her head slightly and turned it back into Shane just before Puck came over to put Rachel in the car.

"That was pretty badass, Berry." He said with quiet admiration. Rachel caught his smirk and shook her head giving him as much of a smile as she could conjure up and then ducked into the back seat behind Shane.

"I'll call you later, Midget!" She heard Santana call after her and she smiled again this time noticing the sting to her cheekbone as it flexed around her smile.

* * *

Shane left her and Anna at the front of Rachel's building and after reassuring him a thousand times that she was fine they both made their way up to Rachel's loft. Anna went immediately toward the kitchen as Rachel pulled off Chase's jacket and sat numbly on the couch. A moment later Anna sat gently in front of her and pulled Rachel's hand into her lap. She knew Rachel needed the silence right now, but she wanted to make sure she was taken care of as well.

She tied a makeshift icepack around Rachel's knuckles and then pulled the tiny singer's body down so that she was laying with her head in Anna's lap. "It's gonna be cold, baby, but they can cover the bruises with make up. A lump will make it trickier." She gently laid the ice against Rachel's face and let her cry until the ice started to melt.

Rachel couldn't stop the tears running over her cheeks and she was thankful that Anna was astute enough not to try and make her feel better. When she was all cried out she sat up and flinched at what a mess she probably was. "Will you stay?" her voice was hoarse, but Anna nodded and took Rachel's hand as she lead her into her bedroom. They remained silent as Rachel threw her some sleepwear and went toward the bathroom to change herself. They climbed into Rachel's bed and she let Anna's arms tighten around her before she closed her eyes willing Quinn Fabray's face from her mind, she had made her choice now it was time for Rachel to actually do what she had been trying to do for months. She had to move on.

Quinn woke the next morning and surveyed the mess in her bedroom when she sat up. She hadn't even had the energy to shower before she went to bed so she had simply stripped down to her underwear and tank and fallen into bed trying not to cry because it hurt so badly to wipe her nose. Her clothes were strewn around her room along with Puck's bloody hoodie and two melted ice packs. Quinn made her way to the bathroom to check the damage to her face. "At least it isn't broken." She mumbled to her reflection as she downed some Tylenol and went toward the kitchen wondering how she was going to explain her appearance to her daughter.

Quinn rolled her eyes as Puck came out of his room in his boxers followed by a fully dressed Santana. "I'm off to the airport, Q, and before I go I have to say that it has been an eventful summer." Santana hugged her friend, mindful of her face and whispered in her ear before she pulled away. "You have your work cut out for you, but don't let her get away. Keep me updated."

"Did you talk to her last night?"

Santana nodded. "Well, I talked to Anna. Who, I have to warn you, is fabulous, and she said that Rachel was banged up, but sleeping. It's been fun and entertaining, Quinn. Don't forget to visit the next time you're in Ohio."

"I'm gonna miss you."

"Yeah, well turns out I might be back in a few months. I'm awesome and they loved me. Told me to call when I'm back in New York." Santana smiled smugly and said her final goodbyes, leaving Puck and Quinn sitting at their counter.

* * *

Quinn knocked on Lacey's door and listened to the sounds on the other side and tried to hide her shock at the bruise that had formed on the left side of Lacey's jaw. She wouldn't have believed that Rachel could pack a punch if the evidence wasn't staring her in the face.

"Can I come in?" Quinn asked when Lacey made no attempt to acknowledge her.

"You could have just called, we both know what you came here to do." Lacey said flatly.

"That would have been cowardly don't you think. Besides whatever has happened, we've had our moments and I owe you better than that." Quinn met Lacey's eyes until she relented and opened the door wider to allow Quinn into her apartment.

They sat on Lacey's couch, uncomfortable until Lacey broke the silence and Quinn was surprised at the emotion in her words when she spoke. "I would never have hurt you on purpose, you know that right?"

"Yeah, Lace, I know that. How's your jaw?" She asked not looking at her.

"For someone so damn small, she's pretty fierce. I admire her for sticking up for you though." Quinn finally looked up into the regret that haunted Lacey's eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry." Quinn managed hoarsely.

Lacey's voice was tight when she spoke again. "Are you two already planning the wedding?" She tried not to sound bitter or hateful, but found she couldn't keep it out of her voice when she spoke to Quinn.

Quinn swallowed, "Before last night I hadn't seen or talked to Rachel in weeks. I'm here today for me. Because we're not right for each other."

"Would you think that if it wasn't for her? We could have been happy."

"We would have coasted, Lacey. You know that somewhere inside as well as I've realized it in the last few months. I'm sorry I let it go on for so long." Quinn couldn't take her eyes away from her hands which were twisting lightly in her lap. They were silent for another minute before Quinn stood and moved toward the door.

"I'll miss you, Quinn." Lacey said as her hand reached for the door. She didn't face Quinn, but she could hear the sincerity in Lacey's voice as she opened the door.

"Take care." She said as she closed the door to Lacey's apartment for the last time. As soon as she was on the street Quinn let a few tears fall over her cheeks before she took a deep breath and found a place to sit down. One down, she thought, now to make things right with Rachel. She knew that the brunette wouldn't answer, but she would leave a message every day if she had to. A moment later she was stunned as a recorded voice told her that Rachel Berry's phone number was no longer in service. She felt as though she had been punched in the stomach as she typed out a message to Santana.

'**Rachel changed her number?'**

Quinn tapped her leg impatiently as she waited for the reply and a moment later gave a sigh of impatience at her answer.

'**Yea'**

Quinn's fingers punched her phone irritably,

'**Do you have it?'**

Her best friend was maddening sometimes and Quinn practically growled when Santana finally messaged her back.

'**Yea'**

'**WELL CAN I HAVE IT PLEASE?'**

Quinn hoped that Santana could tell that she was irritated and yelling at her.

'**No. You want her back you're gonna have to try harder. Gotta go Q good luck ;)'**

Quinn gave a frustrated grunt and put her phone back into her pocket. She absolutely hated Santana Lopez. Quinn swung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the train. She wondered how on earth she would concentrate on school for the rest of the day.

She was sitting in front of the school when she saw Sara and Chase walk out holding hands. Sara waved to her and Quinn hesitated before waving back. After all they were Lacey's friends and she had no idea if they had heard about the break up. Quinn smiled awkwardly as Sara bounded over to her and made a sympathetic noise at the condition of her face. "Jeez, you guys look rough." She said as she winced.

"How's Rachel?" She asked.

"Better than you. At least face wise. I just left her actually, she's helping Anna with something in the Auditorium."

"She's here? On campus?"

Sara, always a romantic, smiled slightly at the hopefulness in Quinn's voice. She nodded, "Finally smartened up huh?" Quinn swallowed and looked away in shame. "Hope you're not too late, Quinn." She said as she allowed Chase to lead her away…

* * *

Rachel watched blankly as Anna finished and apologized when she looked at her expectantly. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I guess I should have stayed home. I can't concentrate." Rachel looked at Anna apologetically. When she had called into the set this morning to let them know that she wasn't going to be there it had sounded like a good idea when Anna had asked her to come and give her some pointers. Now she was finding it hard to concentrate.

Anna sat next to Rachel on the piano bench, "Sometimes it's good to get distracted." She said as she let her fingers play a few notes on the keys in front of her. She watched Rachel and reached up to touch the bruise that had formed on her face. Anna ran her fingers lightly over the bruise, marveling at the possibility that it made her seem even more beautiful. "You're beautiful, Rachel." She said softly. Rachel ducked her head and blushed, but kept contact with the hand that was now cupped against her cheek. "When are you going to let me take you n a proper date?" She asked lightly.

Rachel smiled, "Soon?" Anna nodded and returned the smile, "Have you spoken with Quinn?" She asked as she pulled away from Rachel and absentmindedly let her fingers go back to mulling over the piano keys.

Rachel sighed. "I don't want to compare you to her." She said answering Anna's unspoken question. "I'm not entirely over her and it would be amiss of me to pull you into a relationship, I don't want to hurt you and at this moment I am not sure how much I have to give."

Anna shrugged. "I'm a big girl, Rachel and I like you. Whatever happens, I was warned. You've been honest." Rachel met green eyes when she looked up again, hoping Anna could see what she was trying to convey. "The best way to forget is to move forward." Anna opened Rachel's folder of sheet music and rifled through it, finally pulling something out and placing it on the piano. "Maybe you just need to say goodbye."

Rachel looked from Anna to her sheet music and was glad for the silence. She tried to remember the last time she had sang a song simply to get an emotion out and was surprised and ashamed to find that it had been back when she was in Glee. Rachel placed her fingers on the keys to the piano and began to play, she closed her eyes after a few bars feeling an ache in her right hand as it flexed over the keys, but she didn't lose a note. A moment later and Anna was blown away as Rachel opened her mouth and began to sing.

_Your fingertips across my skin  
The palm trees swaying in the wind  
Images_

_You sang me Spanish lullabies  
The sweetest sadness in your eyes  
Clever trick_

_I never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me_

Rachel felt the ache in her hand moving gently up her arm and Anna watched as it danced across her face, her features contorted in pain as she sang the next words.

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
I should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

She pictured Quinn's face as the ache moved into every one of her limbs until she couldn't even tell anymore where it had originated.

_We walked along a crowded street  
You took my hand and danced with me  
Images_

It hit her stomach next, turning to anger, sorrow and regret and punching her in the gut as she continued to sing, her voice picking up emotion and building power as she belted out the song. For once not to an audience, but only for herself._  
_

_And when you left you kissed my lips  
You told me you'd never ever forget  
these images, no_

_I never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me_

She felt a sting in her chest and felt the emotion move through her as it hit her heart and she poured it into the notes as she pictured Quinn behind her eyes, knowing that the blonde had made her choice, knowing that Quinn had already said goodbye to her.

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
I should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

_I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot drive the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind  
So you're gone and I'm haunted  
And I bet you are just fine  
Did I make it that easyTo walk right in and out of my life?_

Rachel's heart could not contain the pain of saying goodbye as it bubbled into her throat, threatening to bring tears. Anna heard the struggle behind Rachel's words as she sang the last chorus quietly and by the time she was finished her voice was hoarse with effort to hide the sob that she knew was fighting to get out of the back of Rachel' throat.

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
I should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do _

She let it out a moment later as she played the last note and looked up at Anna. She looked at her and for the first time she didn't see Quinn Fabray, there was only red blonde hair, light green eyes and pale skin looking back at her and before she could think too hard about it Rachel leaned forward and captured the small, hopeful smile that Anna was giving her.

It was their first kiss and Anna marveled at the way Rachel's mouth felt soft against her own. She lost herself as she pulled Rachel closer, drinking in the pain, vulnerability and freedom that Rachel was pouring into her. When they broke apart Rachel felt awkward, but not regretful as she looked at Anna anxiously, "Thank you." Rachel said sincerely. "I still, I mean, I still don't-"

"Rachel, I know." Anna knew that Rachel would still think of Quinn from time to time, but she was relieved that the other blonde girl had not made an appearance during their first kiss.

"Well, what I'm having trouble saying is that if you would still like to take me on a date, I would love to go." Rachel said shyly.

"Well, if you give me your number I'll call you with the details." Anna said playfully and was surprised a moment later when she felt Rachel's lip against hers again. The tiny singer repositioned herself over Anna's lap and felt the exhileration of something new coursing through her body as her lips connected with Anna's over and over again...

For the first time in her life Quinn Fabray was absolutely unable to control the emotions that wracked her body. She had walked to the auditorium to find Rachel and the girl from the night before rehearsing for something and had overheard their entire conversation. Rachel's song had hit her like a storm. She had not heard the diva sing like this since high school and she forgot what it felt like to hear Rachel Berry's voice raw with emotion.

Rachel was singing to her. Standing hidden behind the stage curtain Quinn felt everything that Rachel poured into the song as her voice picked up power and by the time she finished Quinn was fighting tears of her own just as Rachel was. But it wasn't until she watched Rachel's lips connect with the other woman's that she felt the severity of the situation.

What she felt was not the typical raging jealousy that she felt when she watched Rachel with Shane or Finn or Santana, this was something else. Because there was something else in this kiss that had not been present in the previous ones that she had witnessed Rachel share. This kiss held promise and abandon and when Rachel pulled away Quinn noticed the absence of guilt on Rachel's face that she had only just realized had been present when she had pulled away from Finn and Santana.

Quinn sat in the park and cried in public for the first time since she was five years old, completely unable to wipe the images of Rachel and the other girl from her mind as tears continued to fall over her pale cheeks. She guiltily wondered if this was how Rachel felt every time she had to see her with Lacey. The amount of pain it must have caused Rachel brought a fresh round of tears and Quinn berated herself equally for the tears and her stupidity at letting Rachel go. Somehow an hour had gone by as Quinn sat and felt sorry for herself when she felt her phone go off. She saw Santana's number and picked up the phone. "I can't talk right now." She sniffled into the phone and hung it up. A moment later the phone went off again this time indicating a text message.

'**I cant believe yr crying seriously, fabray quit feeling sorry for yrself. Remember who you are, you made an entire school miserable and terrified for 2 yrs before you got yrself knocked up, when did you start giving up so easily. Call me when you can talk'**

Quinn stared at the message, reading it over and over again as she felt her tears dry on her face. When they were no longer blinding her she made her way home and rinsed them away as if they never existed. She stared in the mirror and thought about Santana's message. She watched her features tighten into determination as she realized that she _was _Quinn Fabray. She had never taken shit laying down, and she couldn't pinpoint when she had let that trait die away.

The old Quinn wouldn't have let Lacey push her around, and she wouldn't have needed Rachel to defend her. The old Quinn would have knocked her out on her own for messing up her face. Quinn smiled genuinely for the first time in months and knew for certain exactly what she wanted. Quinn Fabray wanted Rachel Berry and no matter what she had to do she was going to get her. Her mind began to race furiously thinking of ways to get Rachel to talk to her and braced herself because she knew it wouldn't be easy, she knew that now it was her turn to wait…

So there it is, let me know what you think and hope it was worth the wait...  
Also, at this point in the story Rachel has never slept with a woman, I haven't made it a big deal because I figured that Rachel would be open minded about such things, but I was curious at what you guys think about this: Should Anna or Quinn be her first? Let me know what you think :)


	17. Chapter 17

Well, if you're reading this, all I can say is sorry and thank you for sticking with it. I have been plagued with writer's block on this story and have written it a million times and scrapped it a million times. This is the version I hate the least...That being said, this was produced out of guilt, and pleas for updates so I apologize if it's not my best work. I did promise to finish though so I will, as always reviews and comments are appreciated and I don't own Glee or any of it's characters...

PS... I stole one thing from 'Grey's Anatomy' and one thing from the movie 'No Strings Attached'...or borrowed, either way I don't own those things either...

Chapter 17

Quinn sighed nervously as she waited to see if Rachel would show up. A little over a month had gone by since she had any contact with the tiny singer and she squirmed in her chair hoping that enough time had gone by for Rachel to be able to forgive her, or at the very least _begin_ to forgive her. She wasn't expecting much, she knew she had hurt Rachel, but she also knew that she loved her and she desperately wanted the chance to prove it.

She had started by waiting her out. Sitting in front of her building for as many hours as she could afford being away from Beth and school, but the only time that she had caught a glimpse of the brunette she had whirled around and headed back inside.

After a few days the guy that sat at the desk inside Rachel's building had come out and asked her to leave, telling her that she was making a few of the tenants uneasy. She had argued with him for a few minutes, but he had only shook his head and said politely, "Look, Miss, the people in there are the people that pay me and while I am certain you're not casing the place you are making them uneasy and it will only be a matter of time until one of them asks me to call the police to have you removed. I really don't want that."

Quinn sighed and knew that he wasn't threatening her he was only trying to spare them both trouble. She thought about explaining to Beth why she was in jail and nodded at the guy. He wished her luck and a nice day and she gathered her things and walked back toward her apartment, her mind already formulating another plan.

By the time she reached her house she had decided that she would try to get Rachel's phone number, and even though she had used every ounce of her Mean Girls personality she had pretty much come up empty handed.

Quinn had cornered Sara first. "I know what you want, Quinn and I am the wrong person to ask." Sara sighed as she added food to her lunch tray.

"I need her number, Sara, please." Quinn pleaded with the girl.

"It's not going to happen." Quinn followed her to her table and when she still wouldn't relent, Quinn got short with her. "You'll have to get her number elsewhere, Quinn. Lacey might be a bitch, but you still hurt her. I won't let you hurt another one of my friends." Sara said hotly when Quinn still would not leave her alone.

Quinn, equally as stubborn, swallowed down her regret. "I'm sorry about what happened with Lacey, but you and I both know that she gave as good as she got. Things will not be that way with Rachel." She said firmly.

Sara didn't hate Quinn, but at this moment she did want to slap her. Lacey wasn't a crier, but she had been walking around for the last few days with a dejected look on her face and who really knew how many tears Rachel had cried over the woman in front of her. For that Sara felt like she should take revenge. "Leave Rachel alone, you've done enough damage. Rachel is seeing Anna let her be."

Sara saw the impact of her words and smiled triumphantly, hoping that Quinn would walk away from her. At this point in the conversation Quinn knew that Sara wasn't going to help her and she felt annoyed at the slap of Sara's words. "Trust me when I say I know I've hurt a lot of people over this, and I love all of you guys for protecting Rachel, but spread the word. None of you will interfere with me making her happy." Quinn had whirled around and left as soon as she let the words out, not even bothering to give Sara the chance to respond.

Fifteen minutes later she ran to catch up with Chase, who was heading for the parking lot. She fell into step beside him and he laughed at her and replied with, "Sara warned me you would be coming and told me a story about a time when she got so pissed off at her ex that by the time they had sex again it was like she had turned back into a virgin. Now I don't know how long that is, but I'd not like to find out. You should have asked me first then I would have had plausible deniability on my side." He had given her an apologetic shrug and ran off toward his car and Quinn sighed and marked both of them off of her list.

Santana and Puck irritated her the most because both of them already knew that she was mostly talk and they had both shrugged her off and changed the subject. She had kept prodding both of them, but Santana had hung up on her and Puck had left her in the apartment to sulk while he took Beth to the park.

Quinn's stomach had sunk as she realized that the only person she had left to talk to was Shane and she was sure he pretty much hated her. To her surprise he had been the only one to agree to help her. There was a reason that she had gone to him last though, he was the toughest on her and she still had no idea why he had agreed to help her, but she was grateful.

"Not gonna happen." He said when he opened the door and saw her staring at him in determination. He was a little surprised when she stuck a boot in his door and fought against him closing it in her face. They struggled against each other for a few minutes until Shane braced himself against the door and spoke in a petulant tone, "What are you ten, Quinn?"

"Look who's talking! Just give me her number and I'll be on my way, until then I'm not moving." Quinn gave the door a push and Shane took the opportunity to kick her shoe out of his door and close it on her. He rolled his eyes the next day when he was heading out and saw Quinn sitting on the floor across from his door.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I have two words for you: Sue Sylvester. You don't know the meaning of the word uncomfortable." Quinn grumbled out her response, not caring that he had no idea what she was talking about, and stood up to walk him out.

"You can't camp out in front of my apartment forever, Quinn. No one's that stubborn, just let it go." Shane checked his watch as he walked faster toward the subway. Quinn caught up to him and grabbed his arm to turn him to face her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you know nothing about me, I am exactly that stubborn." Her voice was determined and cold as she set her hand over her hip, loving the familiarity of the feeling as she glared at Shane.

Shane glared back, but finally relented a moment later and nodded his head for Quinn to follow him. "So how come you're not camping in front of her door?" He asked as she followed him into the coffee shop that he had entered.

Quinn looked a little sheepish, but didn't break eye contact with Shane. "I tried, she has better security in her building than you do. Then I just tried waiting outside for her, but she's never home so I had to stay there forever and the door guy came out and asked me to leave because apparently I was making a couple of the tenants nervous." Quinn scowled and sat across from Shane.

Shane laughed a little as he stirred more sugar into his cup and sighed when he looked up and her hazel eyes were still fixing him with a glare. "Rachel's my best friend, she doesn't want to talk to you. I know because she told me, 'Shane, I don't want to talk to her.' I hope you can appreciate that I can't help you Quinn." Shane said seriously as he stirred his coffee, made a face and added another sugar packet.

"I just want to talk to her. I just need to explain. If she never wants to see me again after that then I'll leave her alone, but I need a chance."

Shane didn't speak for a few minutes, regarding the blonde seriously. "You had your chance, Quinn." He said softly. "I watched her love you for months. And you did nothing, I can't help you."

"I love her." Quinn said softly, almost desperately. It was the first time that she had really admitted it out loud and she needed Shane to know that.

"Then why?" Shane shook his head. "Why go back to a woman that clearly doesn't love you enough? Rachel would have loved you enough for a thousand lifetimes and you couldn't say that then?"

"You love her?" Quinn asked uncomfortably.

Shane stiffened at the question and swallowed. "I love Rachel as much as I'm capable and it's not enough." He offered in a clipped voice. "Leave her alone, Quinn. She's happy for the first time in months. And Anna's sweet, she could love Rach the way she deserves." Shane secured the lid over his coffee cup and turned to head toward the door.

"Shane." Quinn said his name with such force that he had to turn back to her and when he did she met his eyes with a ferocity that caused Shane to take a step back. "Are you ever so afraid of what's inside of you, the damage that you could do if you ever let your guard down, that it makes you run from being happy at all costs. I don't want to run anymore. Not from Rachel, and nobody can love her like I do." Quinn's eyes softened around her last words and she waited.

Shane ran his tongue over his bottom lip and caught it between his teeth as he met the blonde's gaze. Quinn could see the recognition in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as she noticed it and he turned and walked out of the coffee shop, this time Quinn let him go. She sighed and dropped into the chair as she watched Shane exit, she would try again the next day.

Shane swallowed the lump in his throat as he gripped his coffee so tight that he was afraid the cup would give under his grip. "Fuck." He muttered under his breath. He wanted to help Quinn so bad that he was actually angry at himself for betraying Rachel even though he had offered nothing to the woman who had broken his best friends heart.

The thing was that he understood exactly what Quinn had said. He felt that way every single day and he knew exactly how hard it was for her to talk to him the way that she had today. Completely honest and open. Maybe she was ready to make Rachel happy. He made it almost to the subway when he swore again and turned back in the direction of the coffee shop.

Quinn was so surprised when she looked up and saw Shane standing over the table that he had just left that she choked on her coffee. He laughed, but his face turned serious as he dropped his bag on the table and sat down across from her. "I am going against every bone in my body, but I'll help you."

Quinn was so startled for a moment as she stared at him and she could barely register what he was saying to her, "Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"I'm saying that Rachel is the most important person that I have. I know she loves you, but you pretty much crushed her and now she's seeing someone fairly close to perfect. Someone who makes her smile, someone who's not afraid to love her and not afraid to let Rachel close to her, so here's the deal. I don't want to cause her pain, but I want to help you. Because whether or not she's too angry to see it, you're right, no one can love her like you do." Shane paused and looked at Quinn who was still staring in disbelief.

"You're going to give me her phone number?"

"I can't, Quinn. That's open betrayal, I can't lose her over this. It might be selfish, but I need her too. If you get her number she'll figure out that it was me who gave it." Shane shrugged and looked at the blonde expectantly.

"Maybe you could set up a meeting or something, I have to talk to her, explain everything."

Shane shook his head. "Something less invasive. At this point the sound of your name sends her into a state of rage induced silence, seeing you might trigger a breakdown."

Quinn threw her hands up in exasperation. "Well, what the hell?"

Shane shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, but think of something and I'll help as long as I think it's gonna work. I'm hoping that Rachel will be so deliriously happy to be in love with you again that she'll forget to be furious with me. Call me if you think of something." Shane left Quinn at the table and headed towards his subway entrance for the third time and Quinn watched him go, all of the triumph she felt at having help replaced with irritation at the person helping her...

Quinn had laid in bed that night and a plan had hit her at three am. It was hard to sleep when all she could think about was Rachel.

Rachel was seeing someone else, someone who was the exact opposite of Quinn.

Rachel was angry at her, with good reason.

Rachel didn't want to see her or talk to her, or apparently hear her name spoken out loud.

These were the biggest things working against her and they were swimming around each other in Quinn's head until she was so exhausted that she wondered if Shane was right, if she was right. She wondered if Rachel was still actually able to be in love with her, and then it hit her. In order to get Rachel to even talk to her again she would have to get her attention.

She would have to do something to make it impossible for Rachel to get Quinn out of her mind, and around that thought Quinn had formulated a plan. She was going to show Rachel how much she still loved her. And then she was going to wait as long as she needed for Rachel to fall in love with her all over again, only this time she was going to do things right...

Quinn sipped her water and thought about the last few weeks. She had spent that entire night writing and sketching and when the sun filtered through her window she had showered and crashed and begged Puck to take Beth for the day as her exhaustion, emotional and otherwise, finally took hold of her. When she woke she had called Shane and met him at the coffee shop to talk.

She had showed him her letter and her drawing and told him that she was going to send it to Rachel. He had asked permission to open it and Quinn had sat in nervous anticipation to hear his opinion. When he had finished reading the letter he looked up and gave her a small smile. "This might work." he offered as he handed it back to her.

She had written Rachel a letter nearly every day for the last month, always accompanied by the thing that had inspired it and she had shown almost every one of them to Shane who had nodded his approval, but had no news of whether Rachel was reading them or not. Some of them were filled with declarations of love and some were as mundane as describing what she was doing when she had thought of the brunette. Some accompanied by original artwork, some with photographs and others flowers.

It was only after three weeks when she sent a picture of Beth and Puck at the park on a Sunday with a letter about how much she missed Rachel being with them, that she had gotten a single text message that had said simply:

**'Me too.'**

Quinn had turned into a nervous wreck as soon as she saw the text signature that Rachel had not changed with her phone number and her heart raced as she tried to think about what she should do. Five minutes later she had called Shane in a state of panic over whether or not she should answer.

Shane had told her to write another letter. She had and she was rewarded with another message, she just wished it hadn't ripped her heart out when she read it.

**'I have a girlfriend.'**

Quinn had wanted to text her back, but Shane's voice reminded her that she needed to take things slow and not expect anything from Rachel. It was sort of like feeding a wild animal out of your hand, one wrong move and it was gone. No matter how hungry it might have been it just didn't trust you. Instead she had included a letter as part of a piece of artwork and sent it to her hoping Rachel would be able to understand how much her heart was breaking.

**'Mine too.'**

And because Quinn needed to see her before she went crazy she had sent her favorite picture. It was fuzzy because Beth had been playing with Quinn's camera when her daughter snapped it, but she was looking at Rachel as she laughed at something and even she could see from this out of focus print how much her eyes were worshiping the smiling diva. On the back she had written the words 'Pick me, Choose me, Love me' followed by a date, a time and an address. To her disappointment she had not heard from Rachel since. And now all she could do was sit and wait and wonder if Rachel could ever love her again.

She had been waiting for over an hour when Shane sat down at the table across from her and handed her back her letter. "She told me to return this to you." For the first time since he sat down Quinn noticed the pain on Shane's face, "What happened?"

"I blew it and I'm sorry." he said dejectedly.

"What are you talking about?"

"When I agreed to help you I underestimated Rachel's stubbornness, along with her feelings for Anna. I didn't realize how painful it would be for her to have to choose between the two of you. She only told me about the letters today. She found out that I've been meeting with you and she took it in true Rachel Berry fashion." Quinn arched her eyebrow questioningly. "She told me to get out, mind my own business and stay out of her life."

Quinn felt a tug of sympathy for him as his face turned miserable at the thought of Rachel throwing him out of her life. "I'm sorry, Shane." She said quietly.

"It's okay, I'm still hoping the original plan works." He smiled hopefully and held out a key ring toward her. "I wouldn't be here if I thought for a second she was over you, If she were as happy as she thinks, I would have let you sit here all night long until you realized that you blew it. I came to tell you not to give up." He smiled at her, "You won't have an inside man anymore, but I wasn't much help to you anyway. Don't give up." Shane stood to leave, "And if she forgives you tell her I love her and I'll be back in New York in a month." He was gone before she could speak again and the next day instead of writing another letter Quinn sent Rachel a text message.

Rachel sighed as a message from 'DO NOT CALL HER' blinked on her phone and ignored it as Anna walked into her dressing room. "You shouldn't work so hard, you know." She smiled, interpreting Rachel's breathing as a sign of fatigue.

Rachel groaned and smiled weakly as Anna rubbed her shoulders. "How else will I get famous?" She teased as she stood to gather her things. "Dinner?"

Anna nodded and took her bag from her and tossed it over her shoulder. "I think that you should let me cook for you tonight." Anna said as she opened the door for Rachel. "Since you've been working so much and you're exhausted, we should stay in and relax."

Rachel smiled and grabbed her hand, stopping outside the door to kiss her as they left. "I might be persuaded to stay in." She said as she smiled up at the other woman. It wasn't until later when Anna was pulling her shirt over her shirt over her head that Rachel gave pause and stilled the other woman's hands.

The letters had first started a month ago, one arriving almost every day until the drawer by her bed was full of them. She held each one of them in her hand for what seemed like an eternity before she had put them away without reading a single one. She had finally broken down about a week ago and read every single one of them over a bottle of wine.

They were beautiful. Quinn was amazingly talented. They were romantic and heartbreaking and by the time she was finished reading twenty five letters, the last telling her once again how much Quinn missed her, she was unable to gain control of her emotions and had sent Quinn a message.

She went to bed grateful that Quinn had not replied, however she received another letter a day later and when she felt her cheeks burn at the words that Quinn had scrawled over the page she felt like she was betraying Anna and had told Quinn that she had a girlfriend.

Again when she had sent Quinn the message she was grateful for the non reply and even though she felt bad for causing Quinn pain she couldn't help thinking that the reason was because she knew it so well. That was when she had decided to call Shane for reinforcement. She had completely expected him to tell her to burn them, instead he asked her if she had read any of them. "All of them. Except this one. And I don't know if I can."

"Why not?" Shane asked gently,

"I'm afraid if I read one more I'll forgive her." Rachel said quietly. "I'm not sure I want to forgive her." They had sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again in a hopeful voice. Besides things are going so well with Anna. I really like her Shane and while I do hope that one day Quinn and I will be friends, I think that Anna deserves my full attention for the time being."

Shane smiled and bumped Rachel's shoulder. "How are things progressing?" He asked playfully, taking Rachel's cue to change the subject for now.

Rachel smiled and sucked her head in spite of herself. "Good. I'm thinking we'll be taking things to the next level soon.." She said shyly.

Shane's smile faded. "You know you can't take that back, Rae..."

Rachel sighed. "I am perfectly capable of having a fling if I want to."

"Yeah, well, I worry about you living with the fling when it's over."

Rachel sighed again. "So maybe it's not a fling."

"Then open the last letter Rachel. Open it and see what she has to say. Until you do I don't think you should be taking anything to the next level."

"You're supposed to be on my side." Rachel felt her anger rising, which rarely happened. "Since when are you cheering for Quinn? You hated her for months and now I'm finally over her, you're trying to make me forgive her."

"That's just the thing Rachel. You want to be over her, but you're not. You're still in love with Quinn or you would be able to read that letter, you read all of the other ones. Why not give it one more shot."

"Because I don't want to! I gave her a million chances! I never pressured her! I never gave her any ultimatums! She made her choice and it wasn't me! Tell me why she deserves another chance?" Rachel felt her temper rise with her voice and turned away from Shane.

"She doesn't. You're right." Shane pulled Rachel gently around to face him again. "But you do. You're using Anna to get over Quinn, but she really likes you. And however you feel about Quinn, you care about Anna too."

"You're right, I do like Anna! So why shouldn't I do it. Why can't you let me be!"

"Because, I care about you!" Shane said feircely. He didn't want to say his next words, but he wanted desperately to spare Rachel the pain of regret that she would feel if she did what she was planning. "You take a step like this and it changes you Rachel. You do this and you hurt someone you care about. You never stop thinking about it, and not everyone is as forgiving as you are." He added quietly.

Rachel clenched her eyes shut at his words, "Get out." She said when she opened them.

"Rachel."

"Get out, Shane! Go! I don't want to see you anymore!"

"Please, Rach, I'm sorry. I just- Go meet with her. She's sincere when she says she loves you. I can see it in her eyes." Shane froze as soon as the words left his mouth realizing his mistake.

"Have you been talking to her?" Rachel fell back against her counter in shock as she took in the guilt on Shane's face. She let the betrayal sink in for a moment before she turned and walked away from him. She appeared a moment later with the last unopened letter from Quinn and shoved it against his chest. "Tell her not to send another one."

"Please let me explain." Shane pleaded.

"I said Go! Leave me alone, and for once just stay out of my life!" Rachel had regretted the words as soon as Shane had slammed the door behind him, but she needed time to think and she had to do this on her own so she let him leave and cried herself to sleep...

Rachel groaned under Anna's tongue as she freed the other woman's hands and they went back to roaming over Rachel's tanned skin. Rachel tried to squeeze Shane's face out of her mind and concentrate on the woman whose hands were currently sneaking inside her underwear, but had little success. Anna's hands made her feel like she was in heaven and Shane's voice distracted her with guilt.

This went on for a few minutes until Anna pulled away and met her eyes. "Rachel are you sure you want to do this?" Rachel swallowed and nodded. "Because you seem a little bit distracted."

"No I'm fine. Really, let's keep going." Rachel pulled her back down, but after a minute Anna pulled away and sighed giving Rachel back her shirt.

"Seriously, Rach. You're going to have to work on that."

"I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now." Rachel shrunk into herself, feeling rejected even though she was the one who had been distracted. She toyed with her shirt unable to move or look Anna in the eye.

"Rachel. What's going on?" Anna pulled her own shirt back over her head and regarded Rachel with a worried look. "Is it...?" Anna let her voice trail off, she knew how much Rachel hated talking about the blonde. Rachel's silence answered her question and she sat up straighter on the couch. "You can talk about her you know."

Rachel swallowed a lump in her throat and shook her head. "I can't. Not to you." Rachel had moved herself away from Anna. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Rachel, What's going on?" Rachel hated the concern in the other woman's eyes as she led her into her bedroom and opened the drawer by her bed to show her the letters. Rachel sat in silence watching her face as she read through each of the letters. When she was done she sighed painfully. "Whoa." She breathed out at the last one.

When Rachel saw sadness in Anna's eyes she dropped her eyes back to her hands and immediately regretted her decision to be honest about Quinn. "Can we just forget about her?"

"Afraid not." Anna scooted closer to Rachel and tilted her head to meet her eyes. "I could love you Rachel. I could spend the rest of my life making you happy. I've only known you for a couple of months and I know with everything in me that you're a keeper. The only trouble is one day you're not going to be angry anymore. One day you're gonna wake up and start wondering what you missed out on by not giving her a chance to make it up to you. She loves you."

"What if I can't love her back anymore?"

"Don't you think you should know that for sure before you make me fall in love with you?" Anna smiled at her wistfully and pulled her into a hug when she started to tear up and apologize. "It's okay. I can look out for myself, but until you decide I think we should stick to friends. Which means you should put this back on before my sense of chivalry gets distracted by the fact that you're topless."

Rachel blushed and took her shirt for the second time, this time making sure it made it back over her head. "Friends?" She asked tentatively. Anna nodded and smiled encouragingly. "She sent me a text message earlier. Before you came to pick me up."

"Did you read it?" Rachel shook her head. "Maybe you should." Anna reached over and grabbed Rachel's phone. Rachel swallowed nervously and finally looked down at Quinn's message.

**'I would have called just to hear your voice even if it was saying that you hated me but I knew you wouldn't answer. I missed you yesterday and I'm not giving up'**

Rachel stared at it for a long time before a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner or her mouth. She started at the phone trying to decide what to do. She didn't want to talk to her yet, she wanted to wait until she wasn't so hurt, but she did want to let Quinn know that she wasn't exactly trying in vain. Anna watched her carefully as she chewed on her bottom lip before finally typing and sending a very short text message.

**':)'**

Quinn grabbed her phone absentmindedly as she pulled clothes out for Beth to put on after her bath and her heart nearly stopped when she saw that the message was from Rachel. She had never been so happy to receive a smiley face before in her life. She really had no idea what it meant, but smiley faces weren't a bad thing.

She stared at it, grinning like an idiot forever before Puck walked in and scared the life out of her. "What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing." She said, unable to hide her smile.

"That's not a 'nothing' smile." Puck raised his eyebrow.

"Rachel sent me a smiley face." She offered as she handed him Beth's pajamas.

Puck grinned at her, he was getting sick of her moping around like someone ate her cat. "Don't fuck it up." He said gruffly as he took the clothes and gave her a fist bump. Quinn watched him go and sat on the corner of Beth's bed. Obviously Rachel was still going to need time to get over everything that had happened, she could see that through the smiley face, she was just glad that the other woman didn't hate her. Quinn stared at the text message again, decided not to send a message back and went to work thinking about another letter and all the ways that she was going to spend forever making her idiocy up to Rachel Berry...


	18. Chapter 18

Just some short filler to get something up so that I don't completely give up on this story...writer's block is no joke :(  
Sorry for any mistakes, the more I read it the more I hated it. I'm open to any ideas anyone can throw my way...otherwise it might be a while until I get anything up again.  
Hope you'll all stick with, it is appreciated beyond words :)

Chapter 18

Quinn Fabray was sending her love letters. There was still a part of Rachel that couldn't quite grasp the concept of it all, but it was happening. The first letters had been all about apologizing and letting Rachel know how much Quinn missed her, but after Rachel had sent the smiley they had changed. Quinn was a wildly talented artist and a beautiful writer and Quinn's artwork was quickly becoming the highlight of her day. It was also slowly doing it's job of lowering her defenses and softening her heart toward the blonde.

Rachel loved the letters, but after two months she was practically longing to hear the woman's voice. After the last letter that Quinn had sent the longing was quickly escalating into desperation, but Rachel had no idea how she would feel once she saw Quinn. She didn't want to ruin things by moving ahead without caution. Quinn had very nearly crushed her.

That being a thing, had many times been the _only thing_ that held Rachel back from showing up at Quinn's door ready to propose marriage. So far she had been able to reign in any crazy action and had stuck with sending Quinn short text messages to keep letting her know that Rachel was trying her best to remember that Quinn's actions had nothing to do with the absence of caring, only the presence of fear.

Then, she had come home after a night of celebrating the wrapping of her film with Anna and Sara and had found a letter in her mailbox that had very nearly caused her heart to swell out of her chest. In her emotional over drive she had drafted a text message full of undying love to Quinn Fabray before she realized that she was being silly and such things should not be sent in a text message until they had been said out loud. Or in Quinn's case in hopelessly romantic love letters. She had erased the message and constructed a new one that simply asked Quinn if she would like to meet for coffee the next day.

Now, she was just sitting and staring down at her phone. Who knew a single unsent message would cause her such a dilemma. It had been plaguing her since she had composed it over an hour ago and for the first time in a month Rachel missed her best friend. She had even gotten so far as scrolling through her favorites to his name before she remembered that he was a traitor.

Rachel sighed at how over dramatic she had let her life become and called Anna instead. Ever since she had called off their relationship, if it could even be called that since it was so new, Rachel had slowly and unintentionally edged her into the spot that she normally reserved for Shane. Which meant that this time when she scrolled through her contacts Anna answered sleepily. "I just left you. What possibly couldn't wait until tomorrow."

"I need to see Quinn."

"Do it." Anna rolled her eyes, dropped her head back onto her pillow and sorta wished she didn't think Rachel's craziness was so freakin' adorable.

"It's late. I was just going to ask her to meet tomorrow for lunch or something."

"Do it." Anna said again.

"I was just thinking, meet her for an hour and see how it goes, you know?"

"Do it."

"I just don't know. Because I don't really want to move things along too fast. I'm still hurting and I'm sure that Quinn has some reservations of her own that we'll need to discuss, but I think that coffee, or lunch would be an acceptable step forward for us."

"Do it."

"You think it's a good idea?"

"Did you even hear me answer you Rachel. Do it." Anna paused and swallowed her amusement to let her voice take on a more comforting tone. "It's time, Rach. Send the message, meet her for coffee. You don't have to plan the rest of your lives on this coffee trip. Just _be_ around her for a little while. See how you feel. Do it."

"Well. Okay. That makes sense. I guess I'll do it then." Anna heard the mirth in her voice and laughed as she said goodnight and hung up the phone.

**'I know this is very short notice, but I thought that maybe we could meet for coffee or lunch tomorrow. I'm free anytime, just tell me when and where. If you're busy I will understand.'**

Quinn groaned and reached over for her phone that she had apparently forgot to turn off before she had laid down. It had been a long day of school and Beth and missing Rachel and she had just gotten to sleep when she heard the familiar chime of her phone. All of her irritation slipped away when she read Rachel's text message and answered her immediately.

**'I'll always make time for you...can you meet me on campus at around noon. Same spot you dropped Beth?'**

Even though it had been Rachel who had asked, Quinn still felt a nervous flutter in her stomach as she waited for Rachel to reply.

**'That sounds acceptable. See you tomorrow, Quinn.'**

It wasn't until the next day that Quinn started to freak out. Puck found her still in her room when she should have been on her way to catch her train. "I don't have anything to wear." She said when he peeked his head in to see if she was awake. Puck looked around the room at the ridiculous amount of clothes that his best friend had strewn all over everything and picked up a shirt from the top of one of the piles.

"Wear this one." He said as he looked at her like she was crazy.

"I can't, it's too blue."

Puck raised his eyebrows, "Nah, it's not. It's just blue enough. Especially since your train's gonna leave in about ten minutes."

"Shit!" She exclaimed as she took the shirt from Puck and pulled it over her head.

"That's a quarter, Mom!" Beth chimed in from behind Pucks legs.

"Mommy's a little crazy right now, baby. How bout we let her slide on this one? You got your bag all ready?" She nodded up at him as she watched her mother dash around the room and grab things to shove into her bag.

"Okay. Ready, baby?" Quinn smiled at Beth and kissed Puck on the cheek. "See you later."

Quinn and Beth barely made their train and when she got to school Quinn felt like a twelve year old in class watching the clock crawl toward noon. She panicked when her class ran late and was out the door so fast that she could feel everyone's eyes on her as she bolted for the courtyard to meet Rachel. She was slightly out of breath when she saw Rachel sitting at a table bouncing her leg up and down and the sight of the brunette actually knocked the rest of her breath away. "Sorry I'm late." She said breathlessly as she dropped her bag on the table and took in the sight of Rachel Berry.

She was as beautiful as ever. Her skin tan from the summer sun, her makeup perfectly subtle, her eyes wide as she stared back at Quinn, wearing a dress that sat perfectly on her small frame, her hair flowing around her shoulders in soft curls. Quinn stared as if she would never see her again, wanting to commit everything about her to memory. It was only when Rachel tilted her head and blushed under Quinn's gaze that the blonde relented and sat down across from her. "My class went a little long. I was afraid you would leave."

"I was in college once as well, Quinn. I would have at least given you five more minutes." Rachel smiled and held a cup out for the blonde. "I figured that you would only have so much time so I went ahead and got you a cup. I also bought you a sandwich in case you haven't eaten." Rachel's voice was soft as she handed Quinn the coffee and the sandwich and Quinn liked the warmth of Rachel's fingers over her skin as she took Rachel's offering.

"Thank you." She said shyly. Rachel opened her own sandwich across from Quinn and the two of them ate awkwardly.

"How's Beth?" Rachel tried.

"She's good." Quinn nodded, for the first time in Beth's life not being able to think of a story to accompany the mention of her daughter. Rachel nodded along with her and smiled at their awkwardness.

"Are you working on anything right now?" Quinn said with her own smile.

"Actually I just wrapped."

"What was it?"

"An independent film, without an official title, that could possibly be shelved until I win my first Oscar. At which point it will be mass produced directly to DVD."

Quinn laughed at the statement, "Well, you got paid right?"

"Yes in money and experience. Mostly experience." Rachel smiled. "I'm taking a little time off and next week, I'm headed back to L.A. To shoot another Hot Chelle Rae video and go on a few auditions." Rachel's voice gained excitement as she filled Quinn in on her plans, but she stopped shortly when she saw the uncertain look on Quinn's face. "I'm sorry."

Quinn's face relaxed. "Don't be. You should be able to talk to me about this stuff."

"Maybe we did this too soon." Rachel worried. "I would never hurt you, Quinn, or Beth."

"I know, Rachel. I just-"

"This was too soon." Rachel started to gather her things and Quinn reached over the table to still her. The heat from Quinn's hand stopped Rachel at once.

"No it isn't. Stay. We can get through this, together. Let's be honest. We're both afraid. You're afraid that I'll hurt you again and I'm afraid that you'll leave me. The only way we get past it is to stay."

Rachel swallowed and slowly sat back down. "Stay?" Quinn nodded and breathed a sigh of relief when Rachel relaxed back into her chair and dropped her stuff.

"What are you auditioning for?" Quinn asked.

"Just little things. A couple of guest spots, nothing that will keep me away." She added reassuringly. "When I get back I was thinking I might audition for something off-Broadway." Rachel shrugged.

Quinn ran out of questions and took a moment to watch Rachel sit across from her. She watched the other woman eat until Rachel looked up, blushing under the intensity of Quinn's gaze. "What are we doing, Rachel?"

Rachel looked at Quinn for a long time before her mouth curved into a gentle smile. "I don't think we need to figure that out today, Quinn." Rachel sighed contentedly as she met hazel eyes. "I just needed to see you."

"Yeah?" Quinn asked. She had to be honest with herself she had been expecting more out of Rachel. Not that she herself was ready to talk about everything that had happened between them, she just figured that Rachel would want to talk everything to death. She was a little bit ashamed at her relief when Rachel's words ended up being so simple.

Rachel nodded. "I'm not ready to have the talk that we need to have, Quinn and I doubt you are either. Whatever has happened we'll have to work through it together, but for now I just needed to be near you. I needed to breath again." Quinn couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as Rachel spoke.

* * *

**'I am soooooooooooo bored.'**

Quinn looked down at her phone and smiled.

**'You should have stayed in NY w me...I would have kept you entertained ;)'**

Quinn tried to quell the excitement over the fact that out of everything that Rachel could be doing to occupy herself, she had chosen to text Quinn.

**'Remind me of that for next time.'**

**'So whats got you so bored'**

**'On set for a music video. I'm between scenes and the guys are IN a scene so they can no longer keep me occupied. What are you up to today, Quinn?'**

Quinn smiled at the fact that Rachel always included correct punctuation in all of her text messages.

**'Beth and Puck are dragging me to the park in an hour or so...I'm supposed to be showering right now'**

**'I apologize for keeping you. Would you like to have dinner with me when I get back home? That is, if you are free on Tuesday night.' **

Quinn tried to contain her excitement over having dinner as she keyed her answer.

**'YES!'**

**'Excellent! I'll pick you up around 8?'**

**'Can't wait, rach'**

Rachel tucked her phone away and spent the rest of the video shoot on a happy cloud of excitement, only coming down when she remembered that the audition she was going on the next day, was with Shane.

* * *

When she walked into the waiting area she spotted him immediately and made it a point to sit on the opposite side of the room, barely resisting the urge she had to cross her arms over her chest like a child.

He resisted his urge to roll his eyes and waited five minutes before he went over and sat next to her. "If we're gonna read together, we might try having a conversation before we go in there."

"I'm not speaking to you." This time she did cross her arms over her chest, but Shane still held back his smile.

"How's Quinn." He asked after he let the silence go by for a few minutes.

Rachel couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the mention of the blonde. She quickly suppressed it and glared at him. "She's fine."

Shane watched her face as he let the silence settle between them again and after a few minutes he put on his most serious and sincere expression and said softly, "I'm sorry, Rae." It was all he offered, meeting her eyes to convey his sincerity and then leaving her to her thoughts as he walked back to his seat across the small room. He watches Rachel discreetly as he pulled his best regretful face and waited for her to come over. Ten minutes later she stomps her foot lightly (and probably without noticing it) and doesn't disappoint him.

"I'm still upset with you."

"I know." He looks away and then gives her a small smile. "You're only talking to me because of the audition, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I give you permission to use this time to try and make up for your treachery." Rachel said importantly.

"I'll do my best, Rae." She gave him a smile and he knew that she would be sensitive about it for a while, but he also knew that he was pretty much forgiven.

Rachel couldn't stop her excitement as they left the building after the audition. "We killed it, Rachel!" Shane lifted her off the ground with his hug and she giggled in happiness, both at the audition and the familiarity of Shane's arms.

When he set her down her the smile that spread across her face caused his own face to light up in a grin. He missed how overdone her expressions were and the way they settled gently on her face. "I think you should take me out to celebrate before I head back home. Also to properly apologize."

* * *

"Anywhere you want to go, Rae." He said as he linked their arms and lead her to his rental car...

Rachel fiddled nervously with her hair. "You look hot, Rachel. Quit fidgeting." Anna was sprawled lazily across her bed as Rachel examined her third outfit in her bathroom mirror. She didn't even need to see the outfit to know that the tiny actress was being over critical.

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe the last one." She called back as she pulled at her dress, smoothing out invisible wrinkles.

Anna's mouth went dry the second she looked up to see that Rachel had emerged from the bathroom. "Uh." She stuttered as her eyes went wide at the sight of the brunettes bare legs. Rachel's laughter pulled her out of her ogling and she rolled her eyes at her friend and regained her composure. "Well, if your plan is to have her naked before dinner wear that one. If your taking things slow, then that dress is just mean." Anna grumbled as she tossed the last dress back to Rachel and waited for her to change.

Rachel pulled the clothing over her head and fastened a pair of earrings to her ears before turning to the mirror one last time. She took a deep breath and presented herself to Anna, who gave her a thumbs up and smiled. "Knock her dead, Rach." Rachel gave her a smile and offered to walk her home, but Anna just shook her head and helped Rachel into her jacket.

"Thank you." Rachel said, her tone giving away how much she was actually thanking her for.

Anna grinned. "One day I'll regret my sense of honor." She said as she hugged the brunette before she climbed into her cab.

When Rachel's cab pulled up in front of her destination, she paid the cab driver and looked nervously up at Quinn's building, took a deep breath and pressed the button for Quinn's apartment. Puck buzzed her up a minute later and she sucked in a breath when Quinn answered the door a moment later looking more beautiful than Rachel could ever remember seeing her. "Hi." She breathed out and Quinn smiled as she opened the door wider and let Rachel step into the apartment.

"Hi, yourself. I just have to say goodnight to Beth and I'll be ready." Quinn smiled shyly. She wasn't used to this part of dating, assuming she was right about this being a date. She had never let anyone pick her up before, always choosing to meet Lacey out or be the one doing the fetching. It was a nice change and she dashed back to her daughter's room to tuck her in.

"You look pretty, Mommy." Beth said as she hopped on her bed and waited for her mother to sit next to her.

"Thank you, you're looking gorgeous yourself. Did you brush your teeth?" Quinn smiled as Beth bared her teeth. "Good job! Got your outfit for tomorrow all picked out?"

"Yeah, but could you wash my red shirt?" Beth laid her head on her pillow and waited for Quinn to hand her her stuffed lamb.

"I promise, but it won't be ready for tomorrow, so you'll just have to wear what you picked out."

"Alllllright." Quinn smiled at the long drawn out sigh she gave before she pulled the covers over the tinier version of herself and leaned down to give her a kiss. "Are you gonna be gone all night, Mom?"

"Nope, just for a little while. I'll be here when you wake up and I promise to check on you when I get home. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Okay, munchkin. Dad's gonna be here, but If you need me for anything you call me, alright?" Beth nodded and pulled the stuffed lamb closer to her, as her mother turned off her light. "Goodnight, Beth. Sweet dreams, beautiful."

"You too, Mommy. I love you."

"Love you too." Quinn closed the door and found Rachel in the kitchen having a drink with Puck. "Stop trying to steal my date, Puckerman." She tried to keep the unneeded jealousy out of her voice as she spoke. Puck smirked and she rolled her eyes as she addressed Rachel. "Sorry about that. Ready?"

"Yes. And not to worry, I'm not easily swayed. Especially when you, are looking as beautiful as you are right now." She said as she followed Quinn to the hall and helped her into her jacket before opening the door for her. Quinn couldn't help the smile that spread over her face as she ducked her head to hide her cheeks and felt Rachel follow her out the door, both women ignoring Puck as he yelled after them.


	19. Chapter 19

For everyone who reads and leaves their thoughts, this is for you, because you deserve a finished product. Thank you for sticking with me even though it's been taking a while for updates. Your continued support is the only thing that motivates me...anonymous death threats are also another way to go, lmao.

Another short update just to keep myself moving along, Rachel and Quinn spend some time together...be kind I'm writing through a wall of steel, thanks for taking a look as always :)  
btw-I'm writing another story in a different tense, took me a while to transition my thoughts back to the one I'm using here. I think I caught all of the mistakes, but if I didn't, I'll love you to overlook them...

Chapter 19

Quinn and Rachel spent the car ride mostly in silence. There were a million questions that Quinn could feel on the tip of her tongue, but Rachel's face seemed happy and she didn't want to ruin that so she smiled back at the brunette and settled for, "Where are we going?"

"To dinner." Rachel said playfully.

Quinn smiled and went back to watching the city pass by. When the car stopped Rachel got out and held her hand out to help Quinn, and the blonde found herself staring at a fairly rundown theater. "We're eating here?" Quinn raised her eyebrow. Rachel just smiled winningly, and took her hand.

Quinn let herself be led to the back of the theater and waited as Rachel pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. She concentrated on the way Rachel's hand wrapped around hers as the shorter girl led her into the dark building. The dark heightened the heat that radiated from Rachel's hand and she felt any anticipation at what might be hiding in the shadows melt away, because she could feel Rachel's confidence as she moved through it as if she had done it a million times. "Leading a girl into a dark abandoned building is sort of creepy, Rach."

Quinn smiled as she felt Rachel squeeze her hand. "Following a girl into a dark, abandoned building is sort of senseless, Quinn."

Quinn smirked. "Not when she's only two feet tall." A moment later Quinn laughed as she felt Rachel halt, she didn't need the lights to see the indignant look on the smaller woman's face.

"Wait here." Rachel ordered her and the next thing Quinn knew she was standing in the dark.

"Rachel, where are you going?" She called into the darkness after a few minutes. She heard Rachel giggle and she gasped and jumped at the sound of the other girl's voice from directly behind her. "That's what you get for calling me short." The sound of Rachel's laughter sent a shiver down her spine, "I'm really going now, just wait here. I promise nothing will happen to you." And this time, Quinn heard Rachel's heels across the floor.

Quinn's face lit up a moment later as soft music floated up around her and she found herself standing on a beautifully lit stage. Rachel reappeared, looking pleased with herself and approached Quinn as the blonde took in the beauty of the empty theater. It looked a lot better on the inside than on the outside. "Your table awaits, Ms. Fabray." She said as she pulled a chair away from a table that was placed stage right.

Quinn smiled and made her way over to the table and took the chair that Rachel offered and nodded when she gestured toward a bottle of wine that was chilling in a bucket of ice. Rachel poured and went about uncovering a variety of food. "I took the liberty of asking Noah what your favorite foods were, however, being a vegan, it would have been traumatizing for me to prepare most of them. So I compromised and did the best I could. I hope you like it."

Quinn let her eyes fall over the table and smiled when she met brown eyes. "This is lovely, Rach." Rachel felt a tiny flood of relief course over her as she sat across from Quinn and watched as she scooped food onto her own plate and then Rachel's. Rachel only picked up her fork after Quinn had taken a bite and let out a tiny sigh of satisfaction. "I should've guessed Rachel Berry would take me on a date to a theater of some sort." Quinn teased around their food.

Rachel couldn't help the smile that spread over her face at Quinn's use of the word date. Quinn, quietly celebrated the fact that Rachel had not corrected her use of the word. "Not just any theater, Quinn." Rachel loved the way Quinn's eyebrow seemed to be able to arch all the way to her hairline. "You're sitting on the stage where Rachel Berry made her New York City Debut."

Quinn felt the half amused, half intrigued smile spread over her cheeks. She hadn't had many opportunities to actually get to know Rachel. Of course, she already knew so much about her from growing up with her, but so many of those things had faded away over the years and Quinn found herself wondering how Rachel had become the woman sitting across from her, and slightly excited to find out. "Seriously?"

Rachel nodded. "I would never make something like this up."

Rachel looked so serious that Quinn laughed. "So what was it?"

Rachel paused and looked down at her food before she answered. "Promise not to laugh." She commanded.

"Well, if it's something normal then I promise not to laugh, but if it's like the stage version of Catwoman, you're in trouble." Quinn teased.

Rachel made a face and Quinn raised her eyebrow again. She watched as Rachel's face changed and thought about how much she hated Rachel's drama in high school and how adorable she found it now. "What are you thinking about?" Rachel's voice was curious as it pulled her out of her thoughts.

"High School." She answered with a small smile. Rachel's eyes turned questioning and Quinn decided to tell her exactly what she was thinking about. "I was just thinking about how you've always had this way of overreacting. Smiling too big, or sighing too deep. Crossing your arms too angry, talking too long." Quinn continued her list until Rachel was scowling and barely bit back her snicker as she watched Rachel stop herself at the last second from crossing said arms and glaring at her. "I was just thinking about how annoyed I used to get." Rachel's arms did cross over her chest at that and she glared until Quinn let out her laugh. "Now, I think all that drama is kind of adorable." Rachel's anger deflated at the sound of Quinn calling her adorable and she could feel her cheeks warming as she ducked her head and blushed. "So, about this debut?" Rachel raised her glass of water to her lips to cool her cheeks before she met Quinn's eyes again.

The blonde leaned over the table and whispered, "You're stalling." Rachel gave her a pointed look and Quinn leaned back in her chair. "It's _not_ a musical version of Catwoman, is it?"

Rachel's look turned disparaging as she glared at her companion. "No."

"Then spill. It can't be that bad. The first thing I ever painted turned out as spectacular as a five year old's finger painting."

"Bring it on." It spilled out of Rachel's mouth abruptly before Quinn had even finished her sentence.

Quinn choked on the mouthful of food she had been in the middle of swallowing and looked at Rachel with unbelievable eyes. "As in...'We cheer...and we lead...We act like we're on speed'?"

Rachel nodded feeling her cheeks go red again and wondered at Quinn's ability to reduce her to such levels of embarrassment. "I didn't say it was a good debut." Rachel grumbled.

Quinn, who was trying her best not to laugh, suddenly had a mental image of Rachel dressed like a cheerleader and her laughter died on her lips as she hurriedly grabbed her glass of wine to cool her own cheeks, which was slightly counterproductive she thought as the cool liquid warmed her further on the way down. "What part did you play?" She finally managed as she shoved her mental pictures to the back of her brain.

"Missy. There wasn't much to it, but I had one short solo and I learned to do a backflip." Rachel crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "I also had the opportunity to wear pants with a chain on them." At this, Quinn laughed, and Rachel smiled, it was slightly intoxicating to be able to pull that sound out of the blonde. Rachel grabbed for her water again as she wondered what other sounds might be intoxicating coming out of Quinn Fabray.

"How long did it last?"

"About a month." Rachel shrugged. "Would you like to hear my solo?" Rachel asked and Quinn couldn't help smiling at the eagerness in her voice.

"You remember it?" She teased.

"I remember every solo I've ever sung, Quinn." Rachel still had a hint of hopefulness on her face, so Quinn relented and nodded her head. "Anything to hear you sing, Superstar." Rachel's smile widened shyly as she pushed out her chair and took her cue, exactly as she had the first time she had taken this stage. Quinn had exited the stage and now sat in the front row of the theater waiting for Rachel to begin. "This piece takes place following the debacle at Regionals. I'm taking the liberty that you've seen the movie, considering you quoted it to me?" Quinn nodded from her front row chair and Rachel continued. "It's sung to Torrence, encouraging her to rise above her current defeat and focus on a new routine for Nationals."

Quinn had always loved hearing Rachel sing. A fact that she had admitted freely to herself, even when she hated the girl. Then again she wondered if she had ever actually hated Rachel at all. At that moment Rachel took a breath and suddenly all of Quinn's thoughts were lost. The song was slow, but not a ballad, and she watched Rachel begin to lose herself in the song and perform as if there were another person on the stage with her. She closed her eyes as the perfectness of Rachel's voice wrapped around her in the empty theater and only opened them again as she sensed the song coming to an end. She loved how expressiveness of Rachel's eyes and made her way back onto the stage clapping her hands as she approached the diva. "Amazing, as always." Quinn breathed out, slightly dreamily. "I'm starstruck." Quinn teased easily.

Rachel grinned, thinking how pretty Quinn looked with her cheeks flushed pink and before she had a chance to over think it, or think about it at all, she took Quinn's hand and pulled her into a loose hug. "Thank you." She said as she pulled back a little. "You have no idea how much that means, coming from you."

Quinn's temperature rose at the close proximity of Rachel's body to her own and she smiled down at the shorter girl. "I should be the one thanking you, I could listen to you sing forever." She hadn't meant to say it so breathlessly, but the shorter girl still had not released her from the impromptu embrace and Quinn was finding it increasingly harder and harder to remember how to take a steady breath. She met brunette eyes and held them for what seemed like forever before she whispered. "Rach."

Rachel didn't drop Quinn's gaze as she whispered her name. She knew what was about to happen, she had been waiting for it for so long that she was amazed that she was able to keep herself so still. Quinn, didn't have a girlfriend, There was no guilt anymore. They were actually here, actually on their first official date, and Quinn was going to kiss her. Rachel could feel her stomach flipping as Quinn kept her hazel eyes locked on her, willing the other girl to lean forward because she didn't know how much longer she would be able to resist throwing herself into the blonde's arms. And suddenly she realized that Quinn was unsure. When she had whispered her name she had been asking permission and Rachel shortened the gap between them in response.

Her eyes watched Quinn's darken at her answer, and then fluttered closed as Quinn leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her lips against Rachel's. Rachel's body moved forward into Quinn's and the blondes hands pulled her until there was virtually no space left between them. When Quinn was satisfied with the lack of space between them, she sprawled one hand over Rachel's back, exactly above the waist and her other moved up to lace into Rachel's hair to cup the back of her neck.

Rachel could taste the wine on Quinn's tongue as it darted into her mouth, lightly at first, until she used Quinn's moan to thrust her own tongue into the blondes mouth, deepening the kiss as the hand on Rachel's lower back pulled her impossibly closer. Her fingers found blonde hair and even though she felt her lungs burning, she couldn't bring herself to pull away. They had kissed before, but this was different. This time Quinn's mouth captured hers in confidence. There was no second guessing, no guilt, and no lopsided feelings. This time Quinn's kiss held promise and Rachel's heart wasn't ready to let that go, even as it was pounding in need of oxygen.

Quinn was the one who finally found the strength to pull away, taking a short gasp of air as she buried her face into Rachel's neck to keep her balance. Rachel wrapped her arms around the blonde and kept her close, loving the feel of Quinn's short breaths against her skin. They stayed that way for a while, each one trying to recover from the intense moment they had just shared. It was only when Quinn's breaths were steadied as Rachel's fingers soothed the base of her neck that Quinn pulled away and met Rachel's eyes. "Rachel," She whispered.

Rachel smiled happily up at Quinn and pulled away gently until their only contact was Rachel's fingers laced in Quinn's. She lead Quinn to the edge of the stage where she pulled the blonde down to sit with her, their legs dangling from the side. Quinn pulled their hands into her lap and leaned her head against Rachel's shoulder and sighed happily. She hadn't meant to pour so much into their kiss, hadn't meant to let it get so emotionally overwhelming, but there was something about Rachel that she had never felt before, something that made her want to explore the emotional and physical recklessness that surged through her whenever the brunette was around.

Quinn had never been able to let herself completely lose control over her emotions, it was the one thing that had made it possible for her to survive over the years. It had made teenage pregnancy bearable, getting kicked out of her house bearable, and the rest of high school bearable. She had been in relationships before, but she had never given that part of herself up to the person that she was with. She wanted to with Rachel, and that thought simultaneously exhilarated her and scared her to death. She knew she would have to show this to Rachel eventually, she just hadn't meant to do it so soon.

The silence around them was easy as Rachel let Quinn collect her thoughts. She was fairly certain that she knew exactly what was racing through that pretty blonde head right now and she knew that Quinn needed a moment to recover. She knew what was happening as soon as Quinn had whispered her name and she had pulled away, even as her overheated body thrummed and begged her to launch herself at Quinn's lips again. Rachel loved the feel of the woman leaning against her and decided that this was more than she had allowed herself to hope for. Quinn had not said that she loved her, after everything that had happened between them, Rachel knew that it would be a while before those words were appropriate, but she had kissed her like she wanted to do it forever, and for now that was enough for the both of them.

* * *

**'Good morning, rach. Just wanted to tell you how perfect last night was hope I didn't wake you'**

Rachel smiled at the timing of Quinn's text message. The other woman had not woken her at all, though she had yet to drag herself from her bed. She had woken that morning and immediately recalled the night before. Everything had gone perfectly. Quinn had enjoyed the food she had made, had let her sing her song (yes she had planned it), and had given her the best kiss that she had ever received. Of course they still hadn't discussed everything that they needed to, but for now Rachel thought her life was perfect.

**'Of course you didn't wake me, Quinn, however I did skip the elliptical this morning. Someone kept me out past my bed time ;). What are you up to today, Lady?'**

Quinn set Beth's breakfast in front of her and smiled at the promptness of Rachel's response. "Eat up, Gorgeous." She said as she soothed a hand over her daughter's head. "I'm going to the shower. Dad should be out in a minute, if not go wake him up alright?" Beth grinned at her mother and started spooning food into her mouth.

**'Beth has a dance class in the afternoon it goes for about an hour and a half I was wondering if you would like to meet in the park for a little while to keep me company'**

Quinn's leg bounced with nerves as she sent the message and grinned when Rachel took only a few seconds to answer.

**'Just can't get enough of me, huh? Not to worry, as the feeling is entirely mutual. Let me know when and where and I'll look forward to seeing your beautiful face later this afternoon.'**

Quinn blushed at the word 'beautiful' and tapped in the information before she got in the shower. When she walked back into the kitchen, Puck whistled. "You look smokin', babe." He said as he held out a cup of coffee, Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You look pretty again, Mommy." Beth chimed in from her spot on the couch.

"Thank you, baby." She said as she headed to join her daughter in the living room.

"So, how'd it go last night?" Puck followed her and threw himself next to Beth, causing the little girl to giggle.

"Fine." Puck watched her try to play it cool, but he could see her eyes shining and the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Did you check on me last night, Mom?" Beth asked.

"Of course, just like I promised." Quinn ignored Puck's knowing smirk and kept her attention on Beth. "Are you going to be ready by the time I get back?"

"Where ya going?" Beth giggled as Puck started poking at her side, "Daddy, stop." she said around her laughter, Puck stopped and let Quinn answer.

"To wash your red shirt, remember? Do you have anything you need washed, Puck?"

"Yeah my bag's by the door, just a few things." Puck went back to tickling Beth and Quinn smiled.

"You'll remember to pick it up tonight, right?" She asked him and he looked up from the little girl he was torturing and nodded. "Daddy!" She squealed and Quinn giggled herself.

"Yeah, no prob."

"Thanks. When you're done torturing our daughter can you make sure she gets a shower and have her dressed by the time I get back?" She waited until Puck acknowledged her voice before she grabbed their laundry and left.

* * *

A little while later she found herself walking nervously beside Rachel. The nervousness had settled in when the brunette had sailed over to her, looking beautiful, as always, and smelling so good that Quinn had to fight the urge to bury her face in the girl's hair as she leaned in to give her a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek. She had wanted to kiss Rachel again, but she had no idea how much she was allowed to touch her. It had not occurred to her until this moment that pictures of Rachel often made their way to magazines, and she wasn't quite sure exactly how affectionate she was allowed to be.

"I really had a great time last night." She said as they walked, she had no idea how she was supposed to approach that particular subject with Rachel.

"Me too," Rachel ducked her head shyly and pointed to a spot where they could sit and eat the lunch that she had brought them.

Quinn laughed lightly, "I still can't believe it. _Bring it On_." She tried to keep the teasing out of her voice, but Rachel still glared at her. "It was a beautiful theater." Quinn noted.

Rachel nodded excitedly. "It has some great history as well. Barring _Bring it On_." She added, joking. "I would love to buy it someday. Restore it and open it for business again."

"It's not open now? How did you get in there then?"

"I know the guy that keeps it up. It's not open, but someone still owns it and he has someone he lets live there, for free, in exchange for keeping the place up. A friend of mine, actually."

"Who?" Quinn asked suspiciously.

Rachel smiled, thinking that Quinn's poorly disguised jealousy bordered between incredibly hot and incredibly annoying. "I believe you've met. His name is Trevor." Quinn looked at her blankly. "When you were camping in front of my building, I'm positive I saw him asking you to move along?"

Quinn's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "You saw that?"

"Yeah, the grouchy lady beneath me told him to call the police, I happened to be on my way out. Even though I was angry at you, I intervened and told him that you were harmless."

"And he listened?"

"Of course, I told you he's a friend."

Quinn tried to hide her embarrassment and jealousy by biting her sandwich, "Did you meet him during _Bring it On_?"

"No, I met him later. When I broke in."

Quinn's bite of sandwich flew out of her mouth. "You broke in?" Rachel laughed at the expression of disbelief on Quinn's face. "It's not how it sounds. After _Bring it On_ closed, I had a little bit of a hard time finding anything steady. It had been a year already when I got _tha_t, and _Bring it On_ was supposed to run a lot longer. It was supposed to be my big break, the place I would get discovered. Anyway, I had gotten a few parts here and there, but nothing I could live off of, and I was getting ready to call it quits and head home. I just wanted to sing on a stage one more time and I knew that the theater had closed, so I broke in with a few flashlights and belted out 'I Dreamed a Dream'."

Quinn shivered a little, remembering the way she had sounded the night before in the empty theater, as Rachel continued. "When I was finished, I was crying, and Trevor was applauding. He walked up onto the stage and I asked him if he was going to call the police." Quinn laughed picturing Rachel being worried about being a felon. "That's what he did. Then he took me backstage, where he was living and made me tea and I told him everything,including why I had broken in and that I was about to be kicked out of my apartment."

Rachel paused her story and looked a little sad remembering her defeat, Quinn reached over tentatively and touched her hand. "I wish I had known you then. I would have told you that you were too amazing to give up."

Rachel smiled and turned her hand over so that she could wrap her fingers around Quinn's. "That's exactly what he said. He told me about his deal with the owner and offered to let me have one of the other dressing rooms. I asked him if he was a serial killer and after he repeatedly laughed and assured me he wasn't, I agreed. That was about two years ago."

"I'm glad you listened to him." Quinn said quietly as she met Rachel's eyes.

"As am I."

"How long did you live there?" Quinn dropped Rachel's hand and took another bite of her sandwich.

"Not long. About three months later Shane caught me filling in for one of the lead actors in a production of Rent and arranged my audition for his show, and here we are."

"Here we are." She echoed as she met Rachel's eyes, she was beginning to think she could stare into them forever. Rachel surprised her a moment later by leaning forward and capturing her lips in a chaste, but lingering kiss. When she pulled away she searched Quinn's face for any signs that the spontaneous action had caused offense, but all she saw was surprised pleasure.

When they had finished eating they walked back toward the park entrance and this time Quinn gathered every fiber of nerve that she could muster and reached out to clutch Rachel's hand in her own. Rachel felt her cheeks flare in pleasure at the feeling of Quinn's clammy hand grabbing for hers, and Quinn was relieved when the tiny singer didn't pull away. "So, does this count as date number two?" Quinn asked as they neared the street.

"I think so. Is our time up?" Rachel asked, disappointment seeping through her words.

"Unless you want to come with me to pick up Beth?" Quinn asked.

Rachel, who had not expected this reaction from Quinn smiled sadly before she shook her head to decline it. "Not today, Quinn. We still have things to work out and I don't want to hurt Beth if we can't." It was the first sign since they met for coffee that not everything was perfect between them and Quinn nodded and loosened her grip on Rachel's hand to drop it. Rachel had other ideas, however and squeezed the pale fingers tighter in her own before she raised Quinn's hand to her mouth and pressed her lips against the back of it. "Please don't be upset."

"I'm not." Quinn assured her with a smile. "Well, I guess I am, but not with you, with myself. I understand, I was being selfish, I wanted to spend more time with you. Of course we need to think of Beth first. Sometimes you make it hard to remember anything exists, but you. That probably makes me the worst mother in the world."

Rachel hated the self deprecation she heard in Quinn's voice and she pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault, Quinn. I'm _Rachel Berry_." Quinn laughed into her shoulder and pulled away. "I better let you go get your girl."

"You're my girl too, you know." Quinn said as she pulled Rachel back into her embrace. "Is this okay?" She asked, uncertainly, of their intimate positioning in the middle of the street

Rachel shook her head and almost laughed at the look on Quinn's face before she leaned up to kiss her. "Now, it's ok." Rachel breathed as they parted. Quinn grinned down at her before she pulled away, still not ready to be away from the other woman. "Go." Rachel said playfully. Quinn sighed and inched backward, but still refused to drop Rachel's hand until the last second. Rachel smiled as she finally dropped it and turned toward the subway entrance. She only walked away when the blonde was out of sight and felt the absence as soon as she turned to walk back toward her apartment.

* * *

**'I have amazing news! If you're available, would you like to meet Shane and I for a late lunch? If you're busy, I'll share it tomorrow night at dinner.'**

Quinn's curiosity was peaked when she read Rachel's message and ran quickly through her and Beth's afternoon schedule. She had to take her shopping for back to school things in the morning and Puck was taking her to a company picnic in the afternoon, she was originally going to accompany them, but she knew that neither of them would mind if she bailed.

**'I can meet you anytime after one'**

At one-thirty, Quinn arrived at Shane and Rachel's favorite restaurant and spotted the tiny girl waving excitedly from their table. Quinn smiled and walked over to the table to sit down. Under normal circumstances. Quinn was sure that her presence at the table would have cause a little bit of tension, but Rachel was practically squirming out of her chair with excitement. Quinn laughed at her and after the waitress took her drink order she turned to Rachel. "Something tells me you have amazing news."

"While I was in LA, I told you I had a few auditions." Quinn nodded. "Well, one of them was for a movie version of Wicked that's in the works for next year. Shane and I read and sang for it and we're going in for another read and another song for the director. You'll never guess who it is." Quinn tried to keep her face steady as Rachel talked at full speed. "Idina Menzel!" She practically screeched. "Shane and I are going to audition for her, right here in New York. Tomorrow!"

Rachel was busy going on and on about Idina Menzel and Wicked and her dreams coming true, but Shane noticed how quiet the blonde had become. He jumped on her the second Rachel excused herself to use the bathroom. "Don't you dare even think about it, Fabray." He threatened quietly.

"What are you talking about?" She hissed back.

"You knew what you were signing up for. Rachel is going to be a star, if you had a problem with that you should have let her alone. I swear to God if you hurt her, I will end you. No matter what happens or how famous she gets, she'll never leave you. I almost lost her over you because I actually believed that you cared about her."

"I do." She said firmly.

"Then start fucking acting like it. When she comes back to this table you better fucking smile for her and tell her how excited and proud you are. Don't make her feel guilty for following her dreams." Quinn wanted to tell him to shut it and mind his own business, but she knew he was right. When Rachel returned to the table she smiled at her and listened through the whole meal to them go back and forth about how excited they were. She was glad that Rachel was so wrapped up in her nervous excitement that she barely noticed when Quinn told her that she had to get back to Beth. "Thank you so much for coming, Quinn. You're the first person I wanted to tell. I'm calling my dads tonight, I never would have heard the end of it if I waited a whole day before I broke the news." Rachel kissed her cheek and Quinn hoped her grin was convincing as she smiled and waved good-bye.


	20. Chapter 20

OMG! Two updates in two days! I was going to wait until Monday to post this, but I was so excited to produce something that didn't feel forced that I had to celebrate by posting it now. Please, Please, Please! Let me know what you think, I could really use the encouragment, lol. This chapter and the last one are the most dialogue heavy chapters I have written so far and as I've pointed out before, dialogue is a big weakness for me, so I would really love to know what you think :) -That's me practically begging for reviews. Reviews make me happy and happy people update a lot quicker :) Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the last chapter, it's the only thing that keeps me writing.

Hopefully everyone can understand Quinn and where she's coming from a little bit better after this chapter. Also, this story was pretty much meant to end once they got on solidly happy ground, which should be in a few chapters (now that I can feel my mojo trickling back, hahaha), but I was wondering if I should continue instead of ending it, there's a lot of ways this story could go and I was just wondering how far I should think ahead, or if it was just time to end it. Let me know what you think.

Please forgive any mistakes as I am forgoing the editing process for now, I might do it later. I have time constraints today so, I can't pour over it like I normally do. I just thought another update would be good sooner instead of later. Hope to be back on Monday with the next chapter :) and remember, I own zero parts of Glee...

Chapter 20

Quinn dialed Rachel's number and waited nervously for the diva's voice. She had only left her an hour ago, but she needed to apologize. She hadn't meant to start the fight. She had been practicing excited interest all day because she knew Rachel expected her to ask, but she had chickened out and used Beth as an excuse again to leave early. She sighed in frustration when Rachel didn't answer and laid her head on the counter. "I messed up." She said when Puck walked into the kitchen. He sipped his beer as he watched her bang her head on the table.

"Yes, you did." Quinn glanced up at him through her hair and he gave her an amused smile.

"Why does this amuse you?"

"Quinn Fabray, a crazy blonde mess over Rachel Berry? You don't see the humor in that? Fix it." He said as he headed toward the living room.

"I hate you." She said after him.

"Fix it!" He called back.

"I can't!"

"Fix it!" Puck smiled when she appeared a few minutes later wearing her jacket. "Where you goin'?"

"To _fix it._" She shot at him. "Are you okay with Beth?" Puck nodded and Quinn turned toward the door.

She approached Rachel's building with trepidation and wondered how many times she could mess up before Rachel would stop forgiving her. She hoped she hadn't used them all up. She buzzed Rachel's apartment and when she didn't get an answer she tapped on the glass to get the attention of the man sitting behind the desk. When he looked up Quinn hoped it was a good thing that she recognized Trevor.

He shook his head and she knocked again, her eyes pleading with him. Finally she saw him sigh and walk over to the door. "So you're the girl, huh? She said I'm not allowed to let you up."

"Please."

"She's sorta my boss, honey."

"But she's also your friend, right?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"And you don't want her to be hurting right?" Quinn watched the struggle on the guys face. "I can fix that." She gestured to the bags she was carrying. Trevor spotted food and flowers and Quinn saw his face starting to crack, "Come on, do it for love." Quinn begged.

Trevor's face twisted in indecision before he finally relented and held the door open for her. "Fine, but if it goes badly, I'm going to tell her you beat me up."

"Your scared of her...She's tiny."

"Have you met your girl?" He asked incredulously.

"Fine I beat you up." She mumbled, "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, I have a feeling you're gonna need it, she sounded pretty pissed of earlier."

The elevator doors closed in front of her and Quinn uses the short ride to take a deep breath and center her thoughts before she's faced with an angry Rachel Berry. Rachel doesn't answer the door until she pounds on it for ten minutes. "Congratulations, Quinn, I'm having Trevor fired. Go Home!"

"You're not having Trevor fired, let me make it up to you."

Rachel didn't budge, only crossed her arms over her chest and glared. "I'm tired of you always needing to make it up to me." She said tiredly.

"Then please let me explain." Rachel tilted her her head back in frustration and she couldn't tell if she was more annoyed at herself or at Quinn because she found herself opening the door wider to let the other girl in.

Quinn dropped her bags on Rachel's table and the brunette threw herself on her sofa, arms crossed. "Explain, Quinn. I haven't got all night." Quinn sighed and chose to sit in the chair across from her.

"I panicked. I'm sorry. I just, I..." Rachel rolled her eyes and Quinn willed her temper not to flare. "I'm not good at this."

"At what, Quinn?"

"This." Quinn gestured back and forth between herself and Rachel. "At any of it, feelings, sharing, communicating. I don't know how. I've never had to do it before. The longest relationship I have ever had stemmed from a drunk afternoon with my boyfriends best friend, that resulted in teenage pregnancy. I can't even begin to describe how useless of an example that is. He's basically me...with guy parts."

Rachel's face reluctantly relaxed as Quinn fell apart in front of her. "I'm not going to go off and leave you." Rachel walked over and knelt between Quinn's legs. "If you can't trust that, then this will never work. I'm willing to trust you, I'm willing to put everything you've done to hurt me behind us and start again, but you're hurting me again by continually refusing to trust that my career will never be as important to me as you and Beth, and God help me, even Noah." Quinn's eyes blurred as Rachel spoke to her gently.

"I just-I can't-" Quinn threw her hands up in frustration at not being able to find a single word.

"Do you want me, Quinn?"

"So badly, that sometimes it hurts to be away from you." Quinn knew that this response was a tad bit dramatic, but it was true, her attachment to Rachel was scarily intense.

"Do you trust that I'm not going to sell you out?"

Quinn sighed and Rachel's face fell a little bit. "Rational me knows that you won't, Crazy me only remembers fifteen year old Rachel, who would send someone to a crack house rather than have competition for the spotlight."

"I would do no such thing, Quinn." Rachel looked offended before she realized what she was actually supposed to be concerned about for the moment. "I was a child, I for one think I've done a lot of growing and even if Barbara herself knocked on my door and asked me to leave you in order to star in an epic stage production depicting her life as a living legend, I would tell her to march her amazing self right back to where she came from. I want to be with you, Quinn." She continued, seriously. "And I don't believe that it's a feeling that is going to pass. Trust me, there have been numerous times over the last few months where I prayed for Jesus to take them away, and I'm Jewish, Quinn. In a non-Jesus way."

Quinn managed a small laugh at Rachel's confession. "I get it, Rach. Really, I just...I felt blindsided. I panicked and even though I've changed a lot too, I'm afraid my instinct will always be to protect myself." Quinn hung her head in self hatred and both women sat in silence for a moment to collect their thoughts. "Rach?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure? Barbara Streisand?"

Rachel laughed. "I'm sure." Rachel met Quinn's eyes and she hated that Quinn was crying. She tucked a stray strand of blonde behind a perfect ear and spoke again. "Don't misunderstand, Quinn. I would never allow another person to take my dreams away from me, not even someone I love. If I give up being a performer, it will be my choice, but you will always come first. You will always have a say in what way I choose to pursue my dreams. And as long as New York is your home, then New York is my home. That's a promise, Angel." Rachel sealed it with her lips to the back of Quinn's hand.

"How is this so easy for you?"

"Must I constantly remind you who I am?" Rachel teased as she touched her forehead to Quinn's, not letting the blonde avert her eyes as they fill with tears again. "You have to promise me something." Quinn nodded. "Stop running away. Stop hiding behind Beth. I know she always comes first, but don't use her as an excuse to push me away. If you need a minute to get your mind right, take it, but if we're going to be equal in this then sometimes, you're going to have to let me know what's going on in that pretty head of yours. Even with my sixth sense, I'm not always going to know, and sometimes, like tonight, I'm just going to think you're a jerk. And honestly, Quinn, that thinking wears at my resolve to make this work."

Quinn swallowed, "Should we have to work so hard at something?"

Rachel smiled to calm her, "Only the things that are worth it. Me and you are one of those things, Quinn. Besides, leave it to me to fall for the most complicated girl ever to emerge from Lima, Ohio." Quinn smiled at Rachel's teasing, a sure sign that she was on better ground. "Perhaps you want to start our date again?"

Quinn laughed and wiped her eyes. "I do, but first, maybe I can use your bathroom?"

"Sure."

Quinn closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of gratefulness. She had no idea what she had done to deserve someone as amazing as Rachel, but she was going to do everything she could to hold onto her, even if that meant lowering the gates of the Fabray fortress. Quinn looked in the mirror, slightly appalled at the sight of her makeup smeared over her face. She took a few minutes to clean herself up and when she left the bathroom Rachel was on the phone. She smiled as she overheard her telling What must have been Trevor that she was calling in the morning to have him dismissed.

While Rachel was distracted by her conversation, Quinn sneaked past her quietly and grabbed the flowers that she had set on the table earlier and let herself out. She took a deep breath, tucked the flowers behind her back, and knocked. Rachel opened the door with the phone still at her ear and a confused look on her face. "I'll berate you more later." She said as she hung up the phone and her mouth curved into a perfect Rachel Berry smile.

"Quinn, you're here." She said, getting into her role. She opened the door wider and Quinn leaned forward and kissed her in greeting.

"Mmmm, I have been thinking about doing that all day." Quinn said as she pulled away.

"Then I think you should do it again." Rachel said as she grabbed the front of Quinn's shirt and dragged her in for another kiss. Quinn smiled against the smaller woman's mouth and let Rachel stay close as she presented the flowers to her.

"Thank you, Quinn. Come in. I have some food if you're hungry, it's probably a little cold, but we can warm it up."

Quinn giggled. "I'm starving." Quinn helped Rachel unpack their food and they decided to eat it cold, right from the containers. "So, How did it go?" Quinn asked softly and sincerely when Rachel poured them each a glass of wine and was sitting across from her at the counter.

"It went well, she was amazing, Quinn. I'm completely surprised I even remembered how to sing a single note. If it wasn't for Shane, I probably would still be drooling at her, like some psycho fan." Quinn gave an amused laugh at that and reached over with her chopsticks to pull some noodles out of Rachel's container. "Get your own." She said as Quinn snagged some just before she pulled the container back.

Quinn just laughed and shoved them in her mouth, "When do you get the final word?"

"In three days."

"It's yours." Rachel's eyebrows raised. "There's no way you didn't kill it, unless Shane was sharp or something."

Rachel laughed. "Thank you, Quinn." She said seriously as their eyes met over the counter.

They ate the rest of their meal on a less serious note, that mostly consisted of Rachel gushing over Idina Menzel, and though it was late, neither girl was ready to say goodnight. Quinn was finding it easier and easier to talk to Rachel and she found that she loved soaking up any and all information that Rachel offered about herself and her experiences. So, after they did the dishes Rachel lead her to the couch and she found herself sitting comfortably, with a tiny brunette head in her lap. Rachel's eyes were closed as Quinn's finger's played with her hair and silence had settled over them for a while before Quinn screwed up the courage to ask her a question. "Rachel?"

"Mmmm?" Rachel said sleepily.

"Do you forgive me?"

Rachel's eyes opened and she met serious hazel eyes as they stared down at her, "For tonight? I thought we established that I had." She was a little bit confused, maybe it was because of the way Quinn's fingers had felt running gently over her scalp, or the way fact that she had been able to feel herself drifting to that perfect state of being awake and asleep.

Quinn swallowed. "Not for tonight." She said slowly. "For before."

Rachel sat up slowly. "I thought the serious part of the evening was over." She said as she pulled away from Quinn to sit on the opposite end of the couch. Quinn shrugged and felt a lump forming in her stomach when Rachel pulled away. Rachel looked over and saw the hurt flash for a brief moment in Quinn's eyes. She hadn't meant to pull away, but she needed a moment to collect her thoughts. "How did you meet Lacey?"

Quinn had not been expecting Rachel's calm tone or the question that fell from her lips, but she was glad that Rachel hadn't said she didn't forgive her. She told Rachel about moving to New york and not knowing anyone, about Lacey and the Frat party. "It's funny, when I first met her, she was all over me. I could tell she liked me, but I didn't really know if I wanted to be with her romantically, but I was lonely and she was persistent. Next thing I knew, we were together."

"I know I asked you before, but did you love her?"

"Not the way I-" Quinn stopped herself from saying something that neither one of them were ready for. "Yeah, I did." Quinn watched Rachel's face for any kind of reaction and when she didn't get one she continued. "I was with her for over a year, Rach. Of course I loved her, but, It wasn't in a good way. Lacey and I...we...we...wanted each other for selfish reasons."

"What were yours?"

"Rachel, why are you asking me this stuff?" Quinn tried to keep her blood calm, but she was starting to feel cornered by Rachel's line of questioning.

"Because I don't understand why it was so hard for you to leave her. You've spent the last year getting sex from her and everything else from me, and it wasn't any more fair to her than it was to me. Now, I don't know how capable she was of giving you the part that I had, but, on more than one occasion, I made it clear that I was willing to give you everything. I can not comprehend why you wouldn't take what I was offering, but maybe if I could believe that it was because you were genuinely in love with her, then I could rationalize myself into understanding, and then I could forgive you." Rachel had no idea where the sudden burst of words and emotion had come from, but Quinn had caught her so off guard with her question that Rachel couldn't stop any of her words, even as Quinn's face fell into a hurt expression.

"So you don't forgive me," Quinn bit her lower lip as she felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "So all that stuff earlier about being willing to start again, that was bullshit?" Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and when Rachel didn't answer she got up and headed to grab her jacket.

"Quinn, wait!" Rachel jumped off of the couch and put a gentle hand on Quinn's shoulder, "Of course I meant it." She said softly when Quinn stopped, she wasn't expecting the cold look that Quinn fixed her with when she turned back around.

"You really don't want to touch me right now, Rachel." Quinn immediately regretted her tone and the hurt on Rachel's face tamed some of the fire that was burning in her chest. Why was she so angry, Rachel had valid arguments, had every right to be upset over the way she was treated. "You can't start over with someone, if you can't get past what they've done. I don't expect you to forget everything I've done to hurt you, but you don't get to tell me about trust and equal ground when you obviously hold all the cards."

"Then why did you do it? Why did you stay with her?"

Quinn heaved a frustrated sigh, "Because I was scared, Rachel!" She finally yelled and then she felt herself break, "I was afraid. I saw you on that stage and my entire world turned upside down. The last time I felt fear like that was when I was pregnant and homeless." Quinn sat defeated in Rachel's chair. "I spent my entire childhood from 9 to 19 being afraid of everything and it shaped a big part of who I am. For the first time in as long as I could remember I wasn't. I didn't wake up in the morning and see everything that could go wrong, I-" Quinn paused and Rachel watched as her eyes darted back and forth, trying to organize her thoughts. "When you want things too much, Rachel, you go after them, when I want things too much, I go after them too, but all I can feel is fear that I'll never get there. And I let that fear make a lot of really stupid decisions for me."

Quinn let Rachel take in her words and gave her a chance to continue, but when the brunette stayed quiet, she continued. "Lacey was everything I needed her to be, and nothing more. I never felt that fear with her, I knew she would never leave me, I knew she would take care of me and Beth in whatever capacity I needed her to and if she did leave, I knew I would be okay. You don't be with someone for that amount of time and not develop feelings, so yeah, on some level, I loved her, but she was nothing to me. I stayed with her because when I bought that ticket and sat by myself at your show, I was alive. I didn't even recognize it until later. Not until I was smiling all the time and practically staring at my phone, willing you to call."

"It was the day you brought Beth to the campus." Rachel's eyes narrowed at her in curiosity, but the brunette didn't speak. This was the most she had gotten Quinn to talk about herself in the entire time she'd known her, that included kindergarten through tenth grade, she didn't want to break the spell. Quinn smiled as she remembered, "You guys came walking up hand in hand. You looked beautiful, of course. And Beth was laughing and I could tell she loved you and in that moment I could see everything I wanted. It felt amazing, and then it felt...like being knocked up in high school. All the fear that had been creeping around for weeks, hit me so hard and I hated it. You didn't know it, but you already had the power to break my heart, and yo do now."

"You have the power to break mine too, Quinn. Do you think I'm not afraid?"

"I think I have more to lose." She said quietly.

"Are you implying that you leaving me would somehow have less impact than me leaving you?" Rachel asked angrily.

"I'm implying that you're amazing. You have so much to offer and I don't know why you keep giving me chances to ruin you."

Rachel's heart nearly broke as Quinn pushed out her words around her tears. Rachel only hesitated a moment before she climbed on the chair with Quinn and pulled her close. "Because you're not going to ruin me, even if you are the most complex woman I've ever met." Rachel held Quinn close, her heart breaking at Quinn's shaky laughter against her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was holding everything over your head. I won't do it again, I'm willing to let the past be the past. I'm human, so I'm not promising I'll never bring it up again in a fit of diva rage, but please believe that I do forgive you. Forgive me?"

Quinn smiled, nodded and wiped at her face again, she had never been reduced to tears so many times by the same person, let alone the same night. "Hey where are you going?" She asked as Rachel pulled away

"To get something to clean you up. I want to kiss you and you're all slimy."

Quinn pulled her back down and back into her embrace. "I don't want you to go. I'm going to use your shirt." Quinn laughed as Rachel squealed and tried to get away from her. After a moment of relishing the brunette in her arms she let go and watched as Rachel disappeared into the h all. The truth was she did need a moment of distance from the tiny brunette so she could clear her head.

Quinn wiped gently at her eyes and took a few calming breaths as she waited for Rachel to return. She had a feeling Rachel was doing the same. Once again she had not meant to let herself get so intensely emotional, she just found herself feeling so much lately, and even though it had led her to tears twice in one night, Quinn had to admit to herself that telling Rachel what she was thinking was a lot better feeling than she had when she didn't tell Rachel what she was thinking.

She returned a moment later with a damp towel and gently ran it over Quinn's face. "There. Even more beautiful than before." Rachel smiled and Quinn pulled her closer.

"You think I'm beautiful?" She teased.

Rachel moved herself onto Quinn's lap, caught her eyes and held them as she ran her fingers lightly over Quinn's face, "I think you look like an angel." She whispered as she leaned down and kissed her. Rachel's kiss was slow and gentle, and Quinn knew that she was using it in place of words that they still weren't ready to say. She rested her hands on Rachel's hips and Rachel tangled hers in her blonde locks and they stayed that way for a long time. Sometimes kissing, sometimes just holding each other close. Both of them reveling in the fact that they had had their first fight and their first step forward, this time, neither of them had run away...


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you to all who are still interested in this story, I'm not really tired of it, but I do get blocked an awful lot while I write it so sorry if it's not as good as the beginning. Plus I'm working on some other stuff as well, so...anyway hope you like this chapter. Not sure if I do, the whole thing was centered around this idea I had for Beth making Rachel breakfast...seemed like a cute way to bring her back into the story, let me know what you think, I think it's a little long and nothing really happens, but...bleh...Also, Santana's back :)

**Chapter 21**

Quinn Fabray had never been in love. She had always believed that she was too practical to be the sort of person that could fall into the kind of love that resulted in sweaty palms, a butterfly stomach, or nervous giggles. And yet, here she was, giggling herself silly over a text message from Rachel, her stomach flipping a little as she sent a reply, oblivious to the way Puck and Santana were mocking her. "Is she always like this?" Santana's eyes widened in, mostly, mock disgust at her best friend.

"You don't think it's sort of cute? I think it's adorable." Puck teased at Quinn, who was oblivious to her friends.

"Gag me." Santana replied as she reached over and lightly tapped her on the back of the head. "Earth to Q. There's a conversation happening over here. Prioritize."

Quinn, who was once again smiling at whatever Rachel had sent to her looked up to the conversation and scowled at Santana before she sent Rachel one last message.

**'Still coming over tonight?'**

"I was prioritizing." She shot back to her friend as she temporarily set her phone in front of her on the counter. "I'd much rather hear what Rachel has to say, than listen to your incessant, and might I add, childish, mocking." Quinn glared at her friend, but she was unable to stop the smile from spreading on her face at the sound of her phone chiming with Rachel's answer.

**'I have been looking forward to it all week, I might be falling over tired, but I'll be on my way as soon as we land, which should be soon :)'**

Quinn grinned down at her phone despite the ribbing that she was taking from her best friends. Rachel had been in LA filming and recording for about three weeks and it calmed her to know that the first thing Rachel wanted to do was see her. She had told her over and over again during the last week that they could wait until tomorrow, but Rachel had insisted they do it as soon as she landed. Quinn easily drowned out the sound of her friends mocking her again and sent Rachel a reply before finally turning her attention back to the conversation that she had been ignoring.

Quinn was actually glad that Puck and Santana were around tonight or she might have fidgeted herself right out of her skin at the thought of seeing Rachel for the first time in three weeks. They had spent a fairly large portion of their time apart talking on the phone, when Rachel's schedule allowed it and Quinn wasn't busy with Beth, and when they weren't talking they were trading text messages, but she was like an anxious five year old at the thought of actually having Rachel in front of her again. "Do I look okay?" She asked suddenly.

Santana looked at her with such a disgusted look on her face and stood. "We're leaving, Q-bert. Have fun with your midget."

"Hey! I thought you were going to keep me company until Rachel got here. Don't you want to say hello?" Quinn knew she would go crazy without them. She stood quickly to follow them to the door.

"No, you're annoying." Santana shot at her as she leaned over and kissed Quinn on the cheek. "Later, loser."

"Puck?" She asked hopefully. He shrugged helplessly as he followed Santana.

"But I'll go insane." Quinn protested.

"Better you than us, and if I have to listen to you giggle one more time I seriously might do something crazy like punch you in the vocal cords." Santana said as Quinn watched Puck follow her through the door. When it slammed shut behind them, Quinn threw herself on the couch and pulled out her phone.

**'I've been abandoned and it's all your fault'**

She tapped out sullenly and reached for the remote. She was surprised a moment later when Rachel replied from her phone instead of her laptop.

**'Quinn, I highly doubt that I forced Noah and Santana from your presence. My flight landed early. I am on my way to shower and then I will be over to relieve you of your loneliness. Do not do anything drastic ;)'**

**'I have a shower ya know. You could come straight here...Beth has some clean clothes you can wear'**

**':P'**

**'I was only kidding about the clothing part, I do have a shower'**

Quinn replied hopefully. She had sent the message before she had a chance to think it out properly, but she was super anxious to see the brunette.

**'Perhaps when you invite someone over, you should refrain from insulting their slight stature.'**

**'Come on Rach...you're tiny'**

**'I am only two inches shorter than the national average, Quinn.'**

Quinn smiled when it took Rachel a few minutes to answer her and wished she could see the glare that was surely accompanying her comment.

**'Did you just google that, lol'**

**'One of the many perks that are available with my phone plan, so yes. Also, I've been glaring at you since your comment regarding my height. I think the taxi driver is starting to become uneasy. If I get thrown out of the cab, we will be even for my part in your abandonment.'**

Quinn's face hardened at the thought of anyone being less than friendly toward Rachel. She pictured the tiny diva being thrown out of the cab and having to stand on the street and simultaneously watch her things and hail a new cab and for some reason, as highly unlikely as the situation was, it irritated her.

**'If he throws you out of the cab, I will RUIN him.'**

**'Are you wearing your 'Quinn Fabray, Head Cheerio' face right now? Because that would be extremely hot.'**

Quinn blushed at Rachel's words and couldn't think of anything to respond with. A moment later Rachel saved her.

**'Now, stop distracting me so I can pay the nice man and head up to take a shower.'**

**'Fine. Just hurry it up berry I miss you :)'**

**'How much?'**

**'….'**

**'Would you say that you missed me a tiny bit? Or maybe A LOT?'**

Quinn rolled her eyes.

**'Grrrr'**

**'Hmmm...Is that close to a lot?'**

**'ENOUGH! I miss you enough'**

**'Hmm, enough to what?'**

**'Enough to refrain from killing you when you get here'**

**'I think that's in the range of a lot...do you miss me enough to let me in?'**

Quinn felt her blood rush and made a dash toward the door. When she threw it open Rachel was standing there wearing a grin and holding surprisingly, only one small suitcase. "I hope you don't mind, I had to bring my carry on." She said as Quinn stared at her in disbelief, she had not believed that Rachel would actually take her suggestion. She stared in shock until Rachel's smile faded and she started to babble. "Oh God. You didn't really mean it. I'm so sorry, Quinn. I just thought you were serious."

"Rach." Quinn found her voice as soon as Rachel started backing away from her door, but Rachel was in full babble mode and she wasn't stopping so Quinn did the only thing she could think of and stepped forward, invading Rachel's space and pressing her lips against Rachel's still moving mouth.

As soon as Quinn's lips hit hers Rachel relaxed into the kiss and when they pulled apart she breathed out as she touched her forehead to Quinn's collar bone and closed her eyes. "I missed you."

"Missed you more." Quinn said as she gently pulled away from the smaller girl and dragged her suitcase into her apartment, tugging Rachel with her. Rachel walked into the kitchen and threw her keys and sunglasses on the table and upon closer inspection, Quinn noticed how tired Rachel actually looked. "You look tired, baby. Are you sure you don't want to head home and rest?"

"I will in a little while. I just wanted to see you." Rachel smiled gently.

"Well, a bath will help you feel better."

"A bath will put me to sleep. I think I'll stick with a quick shower if that's okay?" Quinn nodded happily and Rachel headed down the hall to grab a towel and then turned toward the bathroom. Quinn headed toward her room and started rummaging through her drawers, looking for something for her girlfriend to put on. When she found something she headed toward the bathroom, knocked on the door and waited for Rachel's permission to enter.

"I found you some of my things to wear." Quinn called above the water and Rachel pulled the curtain enough to smile at Quinn and thank her. Quinn tried not to think to hard about the fact that Rachel was naked In her shower, She felt her face flush a little as she failed and spun around to make Rachel something to eat.

Rachel tried not to take too long in the shower, but her flight had been long and she was tired and the water felt amazing as it cascaded over her body. She ended up staying under the falling water until it started to run cooler and her fingers wrinkled from the exposure to all that water. She stepped out and dried off and threw on the pajama bottoms that Quinn had left for her and smiled as she pulled the NYU sweatshirt over her head as well. She folded her clothes and neatly hung them over the towel rack and combed through her long hair before she stepped out and found Quinn in the living room setting two plates of food on her coffee table. "Feel better?"

"Much." Rachel said as she took a seat next to Quinn. She stared at the blonde for a few moments until she could tell it was making her uncomfortable and then she moved to swing her leg over the other girl's lap so she was straddling Quinn's legs. "I missed you." She breathed as Quinn met her eyes.

Quinn watched Rachel smile and took a breath as Rachel leaned in and kissed her. She sighed when Rachel slipped her tongue gently into her mouth and when Rachel shifted to pull away, her clouded brain mumbled, "More." She pulled Rachel back toward her and kissed her deeper than before. Rachel's hands played at the back of her neck and hers rested on Rachel's thighs, both of them reveling in the feel of the other.

It wasn't long before Rachel was squirming in her lap and her hands were creeping up Rachel's borrowed sweatshirt. It was only when Rachel's hands left her neck and played over the bare skin of her stomach that she took a breath, loaded with willpower, and pulled away. "Hi." She whispered as Rachel rested her head against hers and stared into her eyes.

Rachel smiled shyly. "Hi."

"Your dinner is getting cold." Quinn pointed out.

Rachel leaned forward and pressed their lips together again, "You taste better." She said breathlessly before attacking Quinn again. Quinn felt like she was in heaven with the weight of Rachel's body moving against her on her lap and slipped her hands back under the borrowed sweatshirt, barely fighting the urge to get rid of it completely.

It wasn't something that they had discussed, but as their relationship had become more comfortable, it was a line that they had constantly and wordlessly approached before Rachel had to leave for LA. Quinn knew that they didn't have a normal relationship, so if the sweatshirt did come off, it wouldn't be too soon, she just wanted it to be more special for Rachel than a makeout session on her couch. Given their history, during both high school and their re acquaintance, they knew each other pretty well. Both of them had seen the best and worst of the other and Quinn found that this fact made her somehow more comfortable in Rachel's presence than she had ever been in her life.

Over the weeks that they had been officially dating they hadn't seen a lot of each other. Rachel was working constantly, but not unhealthily, and Quinn could only get away at certain times. The two women had spent the time ironing out the details. Learning small things like favorite colors and foods and once, during a fight for the remote, Quinn had learned every one of Rachel Berry's ticklish spots. Quinn found it odd and calming how well Rachel was able to read her and how quickly this allowed her to put Quinn at ease in any situation. Quinn could finally be herself.

She could finally let someone see a part of herself that she had always kept from everyone. She could be a dreamer and talk about art work with Rachel and tell her how a piece made her feel. Even if she didn't have all the words, Rachel would just seem to understand. She could be human and finally talk to someone about Beth and her fears over whether or not she made the right decision. She could plan their future, even if it was hypothetical at this point. She could be silly and girlish and carefree without feeling self conscious.

Rachel also knew the darker side of her personality, she had experienced it first hand during most of their childhood. She knew that Quinn could be mean simply for the sake of making another person hurt. She had seen how cold and calculating that the blonde could be and while Quinn felt her fair share of shame over some of her past behavior, when Rachel looked at her she didn't feel judged for it.

Rachel accepted her natural jealousy and her temper and made Quinn deal with them before they got so big that the blonde had to start a fight. Over the last few weeks Rachel had turned into a pro at spotting both and had no qualms about telling Quinn when she was being ridiculous (Did Quinn honestly think that Rachel was going to run away with the random gay guy that had stopped them in the street for a picture). It helped that Rachel was just as strong and stubborn as she was. It helped that Rachel demanded respect from Quinn, not just for herself, but she demanded Quinn have respect for her own feelings as well.

Most importantly, after their last real argument, Quinn knew that all of these things, the good stuff and the things that made it hard for her to like herself, were not going to scare Rachel away. While she had stopped actively trying to push Rachel away, she knew that there would still be times when she would do it as a snap reaction and it was comforting to know that Rachel wasn't going anywhere. It was the second time in her adult life that she had actually believed that someone loved her, even if Rachel hadn't spoken those words in months. It was still a little bit scary for her, but all she wanted was to make sure that she made Rachel feel the same way.

Quinn smiled against Rachel's neck as she realized that while her thoughts had run away from her, her hands had seen fit to venture further under Rachel's sweatshirt, the tiny singer had neglected to put her bra back on. Quinn's thoughts at how much Rachel loved her and the way she was moving in her lap gave Quinn a boost of confidence and as she lifted her head and found Rachel's mouth again with her own she palmed one of Rachel's bare breasts. Rachel's reaction was immediate and Quinn's head went fuzzy as Rachel sighed breathlessly as she felt her nipple stiffen against her hand. Rachel simultaneously deepened the kiss and moved her hips more roughly when Quinn moved her hand and squeezed. Quinn worked at Rachel's breast for a moment longer before she ghosted her hand over the brunette's rib cage. Quinn almost laughed when she felt disappointment course through Rachel's body as her hand made it's way back to it's safer spot on Rachel's back.

Quinn held Rachel as she buried her face into Quinn's neck to catch her breath and then it was her turn to groan when Rachel's full mouth latched onto a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. Quinn's breath hitched when Rachel didn't pull away right away and so did her hips when Rachel's fingers trailed up her sides under her shirt. The fact that she could be so turned on simply from making out and innocent touching excited her even more and She wanted nothing more than to pick Rachel up and carry her to her bedroom. She had no idea how her brain was even holding onto the fact that now wasn't exactly the right time for that. By the time Rachel's head was resting lazily against her shoulder and Quinn's finger were playing absently with Rachel's hair the line remained uncrossed, but Quinn had to throw their food in the microwave, as it had gone completely cold.

* * *

"So how was the shoot?" Quinn asked as they ate. She sat across from her on the couch, Rachel at one end, her at the other, their legs tangled in the middle as they each held a plate.

"Amazing." Rachel breathed out. "I can't even begin to describe it." She said around her food. "Oh! Idina Menzel. So wonderful. She has got to be the most amazing person alive. I also got to meet her husband, who was as amazing as she is."

"So what do you look like greenified?" Quinn asked with an amused smile, ignoring the way her stomach tightened in jealousy.

Rachel made a face. "Do you know how long it takes for your entire body to be painted Quinn? That's what I was doing most of the time while I was texting you. On stage, the makeup only has to be applied to certain areas, for the movie it had to be every where except where my underwear covers." She smiled and nudged her with her foot. "I may have talked about you an awful lot to anyone who would listen. After a week and a half Shane got all grumbly and said that if he had to hear your name one more time he was going to go insane and quit the movie."

Quinn blushed. She hadn't really thought about the fact that Rachel would talk about her to other people and she tried to keep the trepidation out of her voice as she asked, "To reporters?" She asked the question with caution because she wouldn't be upset if Rachel had shouted it from a mountaintop, she just needed to prepare herself and a few other people for that before it happened.

Rachel smiled, immediately understanding the hesitation in Quinn's voice. "Don't worry, Quinn. I would never do anything like that without talking to you first. Besides I've been envisioning the dramatic effects of unveiling you at some sort of award show, or possibly the premiere of Wicked." Rachel looked at Quinn with barely veiled excitement and hopefulness.

Quinn couldn't help it, she laughed. "How often have you thought about it?"

Rachel's smile spread over her face as she set her plate on the coffee table and tucked her knees under her. "Often enough. We could go shopping for dresses together."

"As long as they don't match." Quinn laughed.

"Fine ruin my dream why don't you." Rachel teased back as Quinn set her plate on the table and she leaned her head into the blonde's lap, replacing the food. "We could pose for pictures and hold hands and I could tell all about how I fell in love with you." Rachel closed her eyes and smiled as she thought about spending the rest of her life with Quinn. "We could even bring Beth to the premiere, she loved it when Shane and I took her." She said excitedly. "I showed your picture to my stylist and she already has some ideas."

Quinn, who up until this point had taken most of what Rachel was saying as teasing, raised an eyebrow as her girlfriend rattled on, rather dreamily, about what they would wear and who would do their hair. "Rachel?" Rachel opened an eye and peeked up at Quinn's face peering down at her with a curious eyebrow. "Are you seriously asking me this?"

Rachel couldn't read Quinn's reaction. She had thought about it a lot over the last few weeks, she usually attended things like that with Shane, but she had been unable to stop her mind from getting over excited about her and Quinn being on red carpets together. She had meant to give Quinn time to get used to her again before she made such a serious request of her girlfriend, but Quinn had been surprisingly at ease with her as soon as their lips had met on Quinn's door step. She had been worried that the time they spent apart would undo all of the progress that they had gained before she left. She had meant to ease her girlfriend into the idea, but She had gotten so wrapped up in her daydream that Quinn had picked up on the fact that this was actually something that Rachel wanted.

Rachel regarded Quinn for a moment. She wanted to sit up so she could better see into the other woman's eyes, but she didn't want to make the conversation any more serious than it was already becoming. She opted for honesty from her spot in Quinn's lap. "Yes." She said simply, keeping the pressure out of her voice. "I meant to wait at least a week to ask you, but I guess it sort of slipped out." She smiled, hoping to put Quinn at ease.

"Aren't you...worried, or scared of...what will happen to your career? Won't someone be mad or something?"

Rachel laughed lightly. "My career will be fine, Quinn, I happen to be decently talented." Quinn gave her own smile at Rachel's modesty. "However, I understand if it's not something that can happen for you right now. I can always go with Shane, or we can still go together, but without the matching dresses and hand holding. It will be enough to just have you next to me. In whatever capacity you feel comfortable with."

Quinn didn't mean to give Rachel the impression that she didn't want what the brunette was offering, she was just sort of surprised that Rachel was so confident in her talent and in herself that she wasn't afraid to tell the world about her relationship with Quinn. She felt a little bit guilty that she had expected anything less from her girlfriend. "When is the premiere? You're done shooting, so soon?"

"Not at all, Quinn. It still needs to be edited, Shane and I will need to go in and do voice overs and things for any changes or anything that came out fuzzy. It will be at least another six months. So you have awhile to decide."

"I don't need that long to decide, Rach. Of course I'd love to go. I'd love to hold your hand and go shopping with you. I just...there's some things that I need to do first, people I need to prepare." Quinn's voice trailed off and Rachel finally sat up to look at Quinn curiously. Quinn flushed under Rachel's gaze. "My sister and my mother. Puck's family." Quinn didn't mention her father, but she also needed to tell him.

"They don't know?" Rachel asked incredulously, but gently.

"My sister doesn't. She'll flip out, but I could give a shit about what she thinks. I'm pretty sure my mother already knows, but I've never actually said the words to her and I guess I'm still a little afraid of her reaction when I do. And most importantly, Beth."

"Beth doesn't know either?"

Quinn sighed. "Please know that it has nothing to do with being ashamed and everything to do with being private. I already had my struggle with being gay and I made peace with it a long time ago, I just...never got around to telling my family. I figured I would just wait until I found someone who was worth all of the struggle it would cause for them. And Beth already has so much that she deals with because of me and Puck, I just didn't want to add the whole 'mommy likes women' thing to her plate too soon."

"Of course, Quinn."

Quinn hated the way Rachel suddenly looked more tired than she had a moment ago and it occurred to her that she might be getting the wrong idea from everything that Quinn was saying and she scooted herself closer and hurried to speak again. "Hey, baby. I just wanted to know my time line. This is the sort of thing that has to be done in person, which means a trip to Lima that I have to budget in and make time for. I can't wait to go with you. We'll hold hands and kiss a couple of times for the camera and you can tell all the reporters how irresistible I am. I draw the line at matching dresses though." Quinn loved the way Rachel's eyes lit up and she leaned forward to kiss her. "Nothing that anyone has to say is going to scare me away from you." She promised when she pulled away.

Rachel relaxed back onto Quinn's lap and sighed contentedly. "I missed you." She said again before she jumped back into her daydream, this time adding all the details and colors that her stylist had mentioned for Quinn...

* * *

"Daddy." Beth nudged her father and leaned closer to his ear as she whispered his name. "Dad." She said a little bit louder as she shook him a little bit harder. "Daddy!" She yelled when that still didn't work. She giggled when her father bolted into a sitting position and looked confused until his eyes fell on her face. He flopped back onto his pillows and pulled his blankets aside so his daughter could climb up next to him. "Good morning, Daddy."

"Morning, beautiful girl." He said as he stifled a yawn and pulled her into a sleepy hug. "Where's my breakfast?" He asked playfully, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his head was pounding and he thanked God that Santana had already fled. "Hey when did you get home? Did you steal a car?" She giggled again and shook her head.

"Mommy dropped me off, buuut she had to go to work, so she told me to wake you up." Puck felt his eyes slip closed as Beth chattered. "Daddy, wake up." Beth demanded and Puck gave a groan before he opened his eyes and smiled at the closeness of Beth's face.

"Alright, munchkin. Why don't you go put some cartoons on and I'll take a shower. Did you lock the door?" He rubbed his face as he threw his legs over the side of the bed.

"Yup."

"K. Bathroom door will be cracked if you need anything." Puck stumbled toward the shower and Beth headed back out to the kitchen. She was pouring herself a cup of milk when she spotted a familiar set of keys laying on her kitchen table. Beth put the milk away and picked up the keys examining the beauty and the beast key chain before she dropped them on the table and took off with sudden excitement to look for Rachel.

Beth found her a few minutes later sleeping in her mother's bed. Beth crept closer and shushed her own giggle, by clamping her hands over her mouth, as she listened to Rachel snore lightly and then touched her hand. Rachel's hand fluttered and she mumbled something about her nose and turned over, away from Beth. Beth was about to shake her awake when she formed an idea.

She missed Rachel. She hadn't seen her in a long time. She thought that Rachel had forgotten about her. She also didn't want her to leave. She didn't know why, but she thought she would if she woke her up. The only way to make sure she didn't was to make her happy. Beth thought about what made people happy in the morning.

Her dad liked a shower, but he said boys and girl weren't allowed to shower together and he was in there now, so no shower. Her mom liked a cup of hot tea, but she wasn't allowed to use the stove, so no tea. Her grandma always put on her robe and had what her mom called a mamosa, but she didn't know what that was and she was sure by the look on her mom's face when she said it that they didn't have any in the house. Her Bubbe liked cinnamon toast, which was the one thing that Beth could make on her own, but she wondered if that would be enough to make Rachel happy.

Beth pushed a chair up to the cupboard to take down the bread and put it on the counter with the cinnamon and butter. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. It didn't look very impressive. And Rachel was skinny. She needed more to eat than toast. Her mom always made her a big breakfast on the weekend and she loved it. She was going to do the same thing for Rachel. That would definitely make her happy enough to stay. She decided that since she didn't know what Rachel's favorite thing was to eat for breakfast, she would make one of everyone else's favorite.

Puck jumped at the sound of Beth's voice coming from the other side of the shower curtain and pulled it aside. "What?" He asked.

"Do vegans eat butter?"

"No. It comes from a cow."

Beth nodded. "Ok." She said and she was gone.

"Dad what about whip cream?" She asked when she reappeared a moment later.

"Nope, whip cream also says moo." Puck picked up the soap and dropped it a moment later as he jumped at the sound of his daughters voice.

Beth heaved a sigh. "Syrup?"

"Like for pancakes?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah as far as I know."

She disappeared again, but this time when she threw the door open, Puck was ready for her, "Dad, what about popcorn?"

"What are you doing?" Puck peeked around the curtain and smiled at the sight of Beth leaning into the doorway with her hand on the door knob.

"Daddy. Popcorn?"

"Sure, as long as there's no butter." Puck laughed. "Don't get into any trouble. I'll be out in a few minutes." He called after her.

Beth tore back through the apartment to the kitchen and started grabbing things out of her cupboards and off of shelves and laid it out on the kitchen table. It was everything she could find in their cupboards that she thought Rachel could eat. Beth's favorite part of breakfast was french toast, but Beth couldn't cook and Rachel couldn't eat milk or eggs. Her face screwed up in thought for a few minutes before she grabbed two slices of bread and put them in the toaster.

While it toasted, she pushed her chair up to the sink and washed some strawberries as she had seen her mother do many times and pulled a fork out of the drawer to pull the tops off of them before depositing them into her favorite bowl. She took them back to the table and sat down to use the fork and her fingers to half them up and sprinkle them with sugar. This was her mother's favorite part of breakfast besides the bacon, only she usually put them on pancakes with a little bit of whipped cream. Beth left them in the bowl and added them to the tray she had dug out.

Her dad's favorite part of breakfast, again besides the bacon, was eggs. She thought about throwing some in the microwave before she remembered that Rachel couldn't eat them and frowned at the ingredients on the table. She threw open the fridge and looked at everything before a smile spread over her face and she scooped some leftover corn onto a big plate and added it to the tray. They only thing she still needed were hash browns and Cereal, which aunt Santana had every time she came and slept on the couch. Beth poured the cereal and looked around for something to substitute for the hash browns.

Puck turned off the shower when he smelled something familiar coming from the kitchen and threw a towel around himself as his curiosity finally got the better of him. He hadn't been overly concerned when beth had popped in and out of the bathroom. She was a good kid and knew what she was allowed to touch and not allowed to touch on the rare occasion that she was unsupervised, so he hadn't been overly concerned. He might find a mess, but Beth was pretty smart.

Puck made his way to the kitchen to discover that the familiar smell was microwave popcorn and there was indeed a mess. His daughter hadn't noticed him and was busy arranging two pieces of darker-than-he-appreciated toast onto a plate of corn. He raised his eyebrows and bit back a laugh as she sprinkled on some cinnamon and then poured on the maple syrup. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and arranged it on the other side of the corn and stood up to look at her handy work.

He continued to watch as she filled a coffee cup with tap water and carefully carried it over to her tray and dropped a teabag into it, then did the same with his jar of instant coffee. She poured a glass of orange juice and was just about to douse a bowl of cereal with the same juice, when Puck stepped into the kitchen. "Beth Fabray, what are you doing?" He asked as he took in the spilled cereal, the strawberry all over the table and the floor, and the popcorn trail that led from the counter in front of the microwave to the tray that she had placed it on.

The sound of her father's voice made Beth jump and Puck made a dash for the orange juice as it landed on the table and poured onto the floor. "Daddy! There better be enough left for Rachel's cereal!" Beth exclaimed as Puck got control over the orange juice.

"Oh, I see how it is. Rachel gets breakfast, but I don't." It was only after he popped a strawberry (which looked like the safest thing to eat) into his mouth that he fully realized what Beth had said. "Wait a minute, Rachel's here?"

"Yeah." He noticed the way her smile lit up as she answered him. "She's sleeping in Mommy's bed. I thought I would make her breakfast so she would stay for a little while."

"How did you know she was here?"

"Her keys were on the table. See. Beauty and the Beast." Beth held up the keys.

"Yeah. Okay, Munchkin. You finish up and I'll go throw on some clothes and wake Sleeping Beauty. I'll carry the tray though, k. Don't want you to drop it." Puck looked down at the plate and smiled at the compromises that his daughter had made. No pancakes or whip cream for the strawberries, regular toast instead of dipped in egg, popcorn instead of hash browns and orange juice instead of milk. The only thing he didn't get was the corn. "Beth, baby. What's with the corn?"

"Rachel can't eat eggs, Daddy."

"I still don't get it."

"They're the same color, Daddy." Her voice sounded so much like Quinn's that the only thing that Puck could do was roll his eyes and head off to get dressed, feeling very much like an idiot that he didn't put that together sooner.

Rachel was snoring and Puck snickered as he leaned in close to Rachel's ear before yelling into it. "Curtain call, Berry! Move it!" Rachel sprung up so fast that Puck stumbled back holding the side of his face and cursing as Rachel looked around the room, wildly trying to gather her surroundings...

Thanks, if you made it this far :) Next chapter will be Rachel and Beth and Puck, and sorry for any mistakes you might have come across, I didn't edit it...no time.


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